No Such Thing As A Dumb Question About Florida?
In his 1997 book, Carl Sagan wrote “….every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question.” He was writing about The Demon-Haunted World.
If Sagan is right, we suggest some people are blubbering instead of crying! While there may not be a dumb question about Florida, there are many questions that, let’s say, have a lack of perspective.
Florida gets a lot of publicity – perhaps not enough. Despite the constant news stories, Google gets hundreds of thousands of questions about Florida each day. Are they stupid questions about Florida?
Florida Travel Blog thought it might be a good idea to give out tongue-in-cheek answers to some of those dumb or stupid questions about Florida all in one location.
It may be some of the same people are asking the same strange questions. So we are going to assist Google (we will pretend they need our help). These are actual questions from Google records.
Is Florida on water?
Even Google has problems finding an answer to this question. They will tell you Florida is a peninsula extending between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. No, that is not “on water”, that is land extending out between two bodies of water.
Where can you see Cuba from Key West?
We are certain that after a night on Duval Street in Key West, people have seen a lot of things. One of them is not Cuba! Cuba is 90 miles from Key West and physically impossible to see from Key West. Perhaps if they straighten out the curvature of the earth and a real clear day….. no, even then you need Duval Street.
How many Floridas are there?
Another question that Google struggles with. Their best answer is the number of places around the country called Florida. There are 8 in the country and 86 around the world. We don’t suspect that was the answer the inquisitive mind was looking for.
When will it snow in Florida?
Now that is a good one. You can’t even get a good answer to that one in the middle of the winter in New York City! Florida is a tropical state with an average high temperature in the mid-80s and an average low temperature in the high 60s. Has it ever snowed in Florida? Yes, about as often as Alaska reaches 90 degrees.
Is Bigfoot in Florida?
If you can believe it, Florida has the 3rd highest number of Bigfoot sightings in the country. There is about as much proof of Bigfoot here as in any other state – the same applies to the question about ghosts in Florida. However, Florida boasts its own version of Bigfoot with the Skunk Ape Headquarters in the Everglades.
Are there Indians in Florida?
We can only assume they are talking about Native Americans. The simple answer is they were here longer than most of our ancestors. That applies to indigenous people in all 50 states. Most Native Americans in Florida are living comfortably in or near the Everglades. Here, we gave them land in Florida that they owned long before we were here. If there is a dumb question about Florida… just saying.
Are there wild gorillas in Florida?
You will be happy to hear that the answer is no (the ones in zoos aren’t wild). However, there are a few monkeys that have roamed some Florida wilderness for years. Among those, Silver Springs, a major attraction near Ocala, has some rhesus monkeys roaming the forest. They have startled a few tourists walking the trails.
Is Florida a man-made state?
Again, google struggles with that question. They will tell you the formation of Florida goes back some 530 million years ago. We seriously doubt man was making anything then – including the wheel!
Are there crocodiles in Florida?
The simple answer is yes. They have been in Florida at least for centuries. Most are near the Everglades. While they are slightly more aggressive than alligators, most people have enough sense to stay away from both.
Do you need a passport to visit Florida?
We wish we could say this question mostly originates from outside the United States. But, alas, that is not the case. The answer is no – just the same documents any citizen needs to visit any state – not much of anything. An ID is wise, though. We might suggest that citizens of the United States who ask this question should carry one anyway – they may need it!
Is Florida safe?
Florida is number 15 on the list of safety ranking of states. Florida is a state of 21 million people with 1000 people arriving here daily. Despite the impression that it seems everyone in northern states that gets in trouble heads to Florida, the state ranks better than almost every state in the northeastern United States. Like most states, there are some metropolitan areas that are less safe than others.
Are there snakes in Florida?
Yep – and every other of the 49 remaining states. You may hear of Florida’s problem with pythons in the Everglades. These are non-venomous snakes that are not native to Florida. There has never been a death reported due to a python in Florida.
Does “Florida Man” exist?
Yep, every time someone does something stupid in Florida, the story starts out “Florida man…..”. So we assume there is such a person in the minds of news writers across the country. Yet, the fact is, the story may not be about a Florida resident, but a visitor or traveler. We have plenty of wild things that happen in a diverse state of 21 million people. The residents who do dumb things get a lot of help from tourists and visitors fleeing from the north.
Well, this is our tongue-in-cheek look at questions asked of Google. Is there a dumb question about Florida among them? If you think they all look reasonable to you, you may like our article on ghosts in Florida.
We will be adding to the list, so check back soon.
