10 more awesome and interesting Florida quick facts

I love posting cool stuff about Florida, so, since it was incredibly popular the first time (see my previous post here) I decided to list 10 more interesting and awesome facts about Florida!

(Check out my other posts:

“10 interesting Florida quick facts“

“10 amazing Florida facts, parte tres“)

Florida has a state flower. It is, of course, the beautiful orange blossom.

2. The first Christian marriage recorded in what would become the United States took place in 1565 in St. Augustine. It was between a free black woman named Luisa de Abrego and a Spanish man named Miguel Rodriguez.

You can read more about this story on La Florida.

3. Florida was admitted as a state in 1845 before the U.S. Civil War was fought. Thus, it was admitted as a slave state. This officially ended Florida’s reputation for being a safe haven for runaway slaves.

Image result for florida statehood — usf.edu

4. Florida become a safe haven for people fleeing Cuba and Fidel Castro in the mid-1900s. Most were received at the Freedom Tower, which earned the nickname “Ellis Island of the South.”

Read more about the Freedom Tower on the website for Miami Dade College.

Freedom Flights Cuban refugees crowd into a processing area at the Freedom Tower in 1967 — Freedom Tower

5. Florida has a state tortoise. The gopher tortoise is currently listed as endangered.

Image result for gopher tortoise florida — Central Florida Zoo

6. University of Central Florida has the largest enrollment of any university in the United States with 64,000 students.

7. Florida’s state gem is the lovely and beautiful moonstone.

Source: https://www.amazon.com/WHOLESALE-MOONSTONE-SPECIMEN-CABOCHON-GEMSTONE/dp/B06W59XBL3

Amazon.com: 251CTS. WHOLESALE LOT NATURAL RAINBOW MOONSTONE ROUGH ...

8. And then there is the much debated topic of Florida moonshine. Is it legal? Is it not? Yes and no, read about that here or here. There’s also a rather interesting write-up about federal moonshine laws in the US at Clawhammar Supply. Lastly, local NBC affiliate WESH.com has a nice photo archive slideshow of historical moonshine photos.

Image result for moonshine florida blueberry — Yalaha Bootlegging Co.

9. Florida leads the country in powerboat sales. In Florida it’s a $2 billion industry. Yeeooowzzza! Just don’t drink your moonshine and then drive your powerboat. Bad idea.

boat deep ocean idyllic leisure — Photo by Josh Sorenson on Pexels.com

10. Aside from oranges and other citrus fruit, Florida is the largest producer of sweet corn and green beans for the US. It is also becoming well-known for its strawberry production.