If you would take a second to Google ‘Florida man’ or ‘Florida woman’ (an Internet fad that appeared around 2013), you’d get a handful of crazy headlines and stories from the state popping up. At the moment of writing, the results of this include:

1. “Florida man faces charges for eluding police”
2. “Florida man allegedly injures endangered great white heron at state park”
3. “Florida man among 3 arrested in 'multi-state stolen vehicle conspiracy’”
4. “Florida woman accused of animal cruelty in Chicago”

From this, we can see that Florida has quite a colorful reputation and characters, aka the Florida men and women. This isn’t necessarily singling out one person for making headlines due to their odd behavior but rather generalizing the trope of all the Sunshine State. 

Netizens even started a ‘Florida man’ challenge, in which they Googled ‘Florida man’ and their birthday to see what crazy news happened in Florida on the day they were born. For example, on my birthday, a random Floridian was doing yard work naked, proving that there’s a wild story about the state for every day of the year. 

The biggest question you might be asking yourself right now is, what is in the water of Florida that generates so many bizarre stories? Well, one theory that could explain it is the very big and even more diverse population of the Sunshine State.

It’s the third most populated state in the US, inhabiting more than 22.61 million people in 65,758 square miles (170,310 km²). And that’s without the 140.6 million individuals who paid it a visit in 2023.

The population is made up of 5 most prevalent ethnic groups, with white non-Hispanics making up 52%, Black or African American (non-Hispanic) at 14.9%, white Hispanics at 11.9%, two or more Hispanic at 9.59%, and other Hispanics at 4.29%.

“People don’t recognize how huge Florida is. The number of people per square mile is highly compacted,” says Al Tompkins, a senior faculty member at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, in Florida. “When you put more people in a place, you’re going to end up with more crazy stuff.”

Another reason for so many bizarre stories in Florida could be the Sunshine Laws that allow journalists to get their hands on police incidents almost in real-time. “Florida has got one of the broadest public records laws in the country,” says Barbara Petersen, president of Florida’s First Amendment Foundation. “As soon as that incident report is filed (by law enforcement), we can go and make a public record request and get it.”

However, while it’s fine to laugh at some of the ‘Florida man’ stories, it’s also important to keep in mind the other side of these headlines. “Not every ‘Florida man’ story is laugh-out-loud funny. Some of them have real tragedy behind them,” said Florida journalist Craig Pittman.

Often in these stories, mental health plays a really important role. Mental well-being is a big, overlooked problem in the Sunshine State, as it ranks at the bottom of the US states for funding. 

“When the work of journalists basically pokes fun at crime and activities that no reasonable person would be involved in, it’s on us to get beyond the snicker and laugh and sneer and look at if there’s a bigger issue,” Tompkins said.

Even the stereotype that Florida has a crazy crime rate is incorrect, as it’s the lowest it’s been in the past 50 years. In 2022, violent crimes fell by nearly 32% thanks to efforts from law enforcement, community initiatives, and policy changes.