Things I’ve learned since moving to Florida:

Volusia County in Florida is the shark bite capital of the world.

Florida is the lightning capital of the United States.

Florida is called the Sunshine state, but is ranked fourth among the states for percentage of clear skies throughout the day.

There are more alligators in Florida then any other state.

Alligators continue to attack, kill and eat small animals and small children every day in Florida.

The first official NASCAR race was held in Ormond Beach, FL.

There are more homeless people on Ridgewood Avenue in Daytona Beach then any other street in the world.

There are more crocodiles in the Everglades then there are mosquitoes in Albany, NY.

There are more Vietnamese in Broward and Dade County, FL then there are in Viet Nam or Milwaukee County in Wisconsin.

The saw palmetto plant cannot be killed unless the roots are completely eradicated and at least four square feet of dirt is also removed beyond the longest root structure. The reason is that microscopic roots are still present within a foot of the longest visible root.

The state’s motto is guavas ciaos, which means “not in my backyard.”

Some of these statements are true, but alas, most are not. There’s an old Chinese proverb which says that in order to tell a good lie, one must first speak of obvious truths, progress to statements which could be true, and then tell the most outlandish lies with the same timber and resonance. Good sources for these types of lies can be found on the front page of the New York Times.