Happy National Florida Day, an unofficial holiday to celebrate the 27th state to join the United States!
As the state in which Ilankai Thamil Manram Florida is based, today is a day to celebrate all things unique and quirky about that state we have chosen as our home.
The original inhabitants of the territory now known as Florida were native tribes such as the Timucua, the Calusa, and the Apalachee. European incursion began in the 16th century, including the famed voyage by Juan Ponce de León to find the fabled fountain of youth, which resulted in Ponce de León naming the land La Florida. In 1565, the settlement of St. Augustine was established, and it became the oldest continually-occupied European settlement in the continental United States. As the influx of other Europeans from the north grew, Spain eventually traded Florida to Britain. Florida became a state of the United States of America on March 3, 1845, and though it seceded with the Confederacy during the American Civil War, it was returned to the Union upon the war’s end.
Here are some fun facts about the state of Florida:
- Florida is the flattest state in the United States. Its highest point, Britton Hill, is only 345 feet above sea level.
- The Florida Keys announced themselves a separate country for two minutes in 1982. The country was entitled “The Conch Republic.”
- Gatorade was named after the University of Florida’s football team, the Gators. Go Gators!
- The Florida Everglades is the only place you can see crocodiles and alligators in the same place in the wild. If you live close enough, you might also see them in your backyard or swimming pool.
- Florida is the lightning capital of the United States. Shocking!
- In terms of area, Sri Lanka is a little over two times smaller than the state of Florida. However, the distance from the east side of the island to the west, and the distance across widest part of the peninsula of Florida is nearly the same.
What is unique about your corner of Florida?