Florida produces more than 90 percent of Americas orange juice and is only second to Brazil in global production. Florida isn't called the Sunshine State for nothing. Another average to consider is the amount of actual sunny days that Florida experiences, which is 237 days out of 365 days per year. Cape Canaveral is owned by the U.S. Air Force. The nickname "Sunshine State" entices winter-weary visitors to Florida, more so than "Alligator State" or swampy "Everglade State" ever could. Florida is called the Sunshine State for a good reason. Missouris nickname, The Show Me State is not official, but its in wide use and has a colorful origin story: At an 1899 naval banquet in Philadelphia, Missouri Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver stated, frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. In addition to being known as The Sunshine State, Florida is home to some of the best restaurants in Fort Lauderdale. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. On December 7, 1787, Delaware was the first of the 13 colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and it has been known as The First State ever since. Because of its great abundance of unsettled land, Alaska earned the nickname The Last Frontier. Its official motto, according to Alaskas official website is North to the Future, while the name Alaska, itself derives the Aleut word aleyska, meaning great land.. The nickname was officially adopted by the 1970 legislature. Florida hasnt always had the nickname The Sunshine State. In fact, the state only officially took that nickname in 1970. Florida is called the Sunshine State because of its subtropical to tropical climate and annual average of 230 days with sunshine. The Sunshine Review Act of 1995 applies to meetings. Because of the states vast corn farmland, its also occasionally known as the Corn State.. Scroll through your Facebook and Instagram feeds. Never before had so many Floridians from every walk of life and political angle unified to make it clear to Tallahassee the importance of our natural resources. Hawaii has been referring to itself as The Aloha State since 1959 when the state legislature voted to make that the states official nickname. When settlers were coming to Kentucky, they were welcomed by field after field of tall grass with a blue cast. I had heard at one time that the hibiscus was the state flower of Florida. All photos captured by the PHF team. The story that Ponce de Leon was chasing the Fountain of Youth was added to his lore long after his death. A few days later, on January 8, 1833, at the Jackson Day dinner at Indianapolis, a prominent Indianian toasted The Hoosier State of Indiana. The name stuckalthough the original spelling of Hoosher did not. Lauren is also an author of crime fiction, and her first full-length manuscript, "The Trust Game," was short-listed for the 2017 CLUE Award for emerging talent in the genre of suspense fiction. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. Spend Recreational Marijuana Taxes On This! Start planning your vacation at VISITFLORIDA.comSubscribe to see our latest travel videos about top Florida destination. Another nickname for Florida is The Peninsula State. Although some Spanish speakers dispute this, the name Colorado has its origin in the Spanish language, as the word for colored red, according to Colorados state government, which chose the name in 1861 when Colorado became a territory. And take it for what its worth, but our state is booming with 694 Starbucks compared to around 75 in New Mexico. Georgia got its name from King George II, who was king of Britain when Europeans first settled in the colony in 1733, according to the Georgia state government. Another nickname for Florida is The Peninsula State. The quarterly dues which include property insurance, maintenance fees and . Florida has been called the sunshine state for almost as long as it has been an official U.S. state. Just like the Florida state motto has reached an official status by legislature, this Florida state nickname was adopted as official state nickname by legislature in 1970. The nickname sunshine state was a brilliant marketing ploy from the state, trying to encourage more tourism, and it worked! A southern state, Florida receives abundant sunshine, enough to support groves of oranges and other produce, as well as droves of tourists who seek the sun and its warmth on the many beaches. Thanks to Floridas proximity to the equator, the state gets more hours of sunshine per day on average compared to most of the other states in the U.S., So its no mystery that Floridas nickname is The Sunshine State. The Sunshine State is Florida's nickname because of the state's geography and abundance of sunny weather. Opened near Orlando in 1971, Disney World is the world's largest and most visited recreational resort. can you match the state to its flag in this quiz? Fast forward to today and check out Visit Floridas website and flip through their travel magazine thats distributed worldwide. Perhaps this is because there are many who think of Wisconsin as Americas Dairyland, the name that the Wisconsin Dairy Farmers prefer. Sunshine State (used on license plates) Georgia: Peach State (used on license plates) Cracker State Along with Florida, Georgia had been called "The Cracker State" in earlier times, perhaps a derogatory term that referred to immigrants, called "crackers," from the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. Ok. Ok. Next, learn the 18 history facts your teacher lied to you about. But not even the denizens of the Sunshine State are exempt from having nicknames. With six months of rain and a tighter grip on public records than Fort Knox, not sure why it's called the SunShine State. Warm sunshine fills the air most days of the year. Why Is Washington Called the Evergreen State? However, the famous nickname to represent What is our Florida life without fishing, scuba diving, boating, cave diving, beaching, surfing, sailing? Florida is known as the alligator state. Read on for the most iconic movie set in every state. Florida also ranks as one of the wettest states in the U.S., surpassed only by Louisiana. AS FEATURED ON: The orange groves, so numerous across the state, earned this nickname for the state. Others call it the Alligator State, because many alligators live there. When will South Florida gas stations return back to normal after the shortage? Even so, Florida is not the sunniest state, as many states in the western U.S. produce even more sunshine. "The Sunshine State" is the official nickname of Florida. Even today, tourism is one of the leading industries throughout Florida, with the sunshine state welcoming 36 million visitors between January and March 2022. This is a list of nicknames for each of the 50 states of the United States, ordered alphabetically by state. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. The Sunshine State is Florida's official nickname. The origin of the nickname The Alligator State is the population of alligators in Florida and the Everglades. The nickname replaced the former, Land of Opportunity.. known European to set foot on the area now called Florida when . Floridas population is 22 million with barely 2 million calling New Mexico home. Florida Legislature officially adopted the nickname The Sunshine State in 1970. Florida is one of the most-visited destinations in the world. This Florida-related article is a stub. Theme parks started cropping up all over Florida, including Walt Disney World Resort. The Florida state nickname became law in 1970, although the connection between sunshine and Florida already existed before that. But wait - the state of New Mexico has more days of sunshine per year than us! What is Floridas nickname The Sunshine State? One theory about the nickname itself is that Confederate General Robert E. Lee coined the phrase the Tar Heel Boys, which the Tar Heel State derives from. Apparently, this comparison is apples to our sweet oranges. The French also explored Florida, with Jean Ribault landing in 1562 and Ren Goulaine de Laudonnire establishing Fort Caroline in 1564. It also makes a difference when it comes to how long the day is. Matter of fact isnt it kind of lazy for our state to claim the sun as our own, when it is 92.6 million miles away and shared by everyone on the planet? the small towns in every state known for the weirdest things. In tribute to both, Nebraska adopted The Cornhusker State as its official nickname in 1945. The cluster of tropical islands named Key West is situated at the southernmost point of the state, and they receive an average of just over 75% partly sunny skies each year, with the majority of other cities in Florida averaging over 60% per annum. The state is the most southern point in the United States, with both mainland and islands that it represents. Spanish explorer Ponce DeLeon was the first European to explore Florida. , which is the largest continuous stand of sawgrass prairie in North America and the only subtropical preserve on the continent. Bay was even part of its original name, when in 1629, colonists developing the area dubbed it the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Bay Colony was dropped in 1788 with the passage of the constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law, commonly called the Sunshine Law, passed in 1967. the most charming small towns in every state. Florida is called the Sunshine State because of its abundant sunshine and warm temperatures . One group believes it stems from the sound of cracking whips ranchers used to herd cattle. Floridas nickname is The Sunshine State, and it was adopted officially by Florida legislature in 1970. But there are a few different ways of counting how much sunshine a given state gets, and this is where Floridas status shines clear. Lauren Cahn is a New Yorkbased writer whose work has appeared regularly on Reader's Digest and in a variety of other publications since 2008. With an average of 237 sunny days a year, the state is a bastion of solar energy production.Its most recent solar installation figures confirm thisthe Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) ranks the state third in solar installations in 2023 and third overall in 2021. It is in Florida's best interest to be considered the "Sunshine State" since so much of its economy relies on tourists expecting fair southern weather during dreary northern winters. The Florida Keys (surrounded by water) have a more tropical climate, with less variability in temperatures compared to mainland Florida. Duh, common sense, the downpours and rain level have little to do with how many hours of sunshine the state gets overall. Check out the number of water adventures our recreation industry offers. Some people also call it the Orange State, because of Florida's many orange groves. Its hard to say who first referred to Florida as The Sunshine State. Who controlled the House of Representatives in 1982? @heavanet- I think that you are confusing the state that has the hibiscus as its state flower with Florida, but it is an understandable misunderstanding. In 1944, airman and pharmacist Benjamin Green from Miami developed the first widely-used sunscreen to protect himself and other soldiers during World War II. Many Cubans also immigrated to Miami throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, establishing a vibrant Latin American culture. Tourism has surpassed agriculture and manufacturing as the main component of Florida's economy, and the prospect of employment in the state's rapidly growing service sector has simultaneously drawn many immigrants, mostly from Latin America. Initially a missile testing site in the 1940s, Florida's Cape Canaveral became a hub for the U.S. space program in 1950. It requires that all meetings of any state, county, or municipal board or commission in Florida be open to the public, and declares that actions taken at closed meetings are not binding ( Section 286.011, Florida Statutes ). The Seminole Wars began when American militias first attacked and seized Spanish and Seminole lands in 1812. The connection between Florida and sunshine is a strong one, but other U.S. states have many sunny days. Florida shares this nickname with Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, which all have shorelines on the Gulf of Mexico. Florida declared the alligator their official state reptile in 1987. After the war, Cuba became its own country with increasingly repressive policies, leading more people to leave Cuba for Florida. Florida is a truly wonderful state, full of culture and liveliness, not to mention, from a business perspective, the state offers a lot and is economically one of the most stable states in the United States. In Australia, "The Sunshine State" is the official nickname of Queensland. Matter of fact 90% of our Floridians (19 million) depend on two of the most relied-upon aquifers on the planet the Floridan and Biscayne Aquifers. In Key West, temperatures rarely exceed 90 F (32 C) in the summer or fall below 60 F (16 C) in the winter (frost has never been reported in the Florida Keys). But some snuck into the land thats now Oklahoma before the designated start time; these early squatters were known as the Sooners. The word that came to symbolize an energetic, can-do spirit, soon was embraced as a nickname for the entire state, according to History. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". All State Nicknames. Its also unofficially known as The Flickertail State and The Roughrider State.. The state nickname of Florida is not included on the states flag. For a state that is only 37 miles wide and 48 miles long, it is notable that its shoreline on Narragansett Bay in the Atlantic Ocean runs for 400 miles, notes the state government. Beaver fur was prized in the 19th century and the beaver is also featured on the reverse side of the Oregon state flag. The 1783 Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution and handed Florida from England to Spain, which acted as an ally to the Americans in exchange for the Bahamas. Here are the most difficult-to-pronounce places in every single state. The Gulf State. In the 1800s, Floridas economy was based around crops, cattle and enslaved peopleputting it at odds with northern states that opposed slavery. The Everglades State, a nickname that became popular in the late 1800s, refers to the fact that Florida is home to two million acres of wetlands known as the Everglades. Politically, Pennsylvania played a vital role in holding together the states of the newly formed Union.. The nickname was officially adopted by the 1970 legislature. The third is because Wyoming women were the first women in this United States to have the right to vote, serve on juries, and hold public office. See answer (1) Copy. The state seal also includes a drawing of a female Seminole Indian who is strewing flowers upon the land. Florida Legislature officially adopted the nickname "The Sunshine State" in 1970. Whats the reason South Florida is getting so much rain this dry season. 1,350 miles of coastline 2nd to Alaska & more than California, 30,000 lakes including one of the nations largest, Lake Okeechobee, our world renowned River of Grass the Florida Everglades, the most artesian springs and spring-fed rivers on the planet, 26,000 miles of rivers including the 310 mile St. Johns River, one of the worlds largest estuaries the Indian River Lagoon, the largest manatee habitat on the planet Kings Bay. And by the way, where else on this planet is a family from Ohio going to see mermaids in water so clear they built an underwater theatre? Melissa's career in writing started more than 20 years ago. But in the 17th and 18th centuries, English colonists began migrating south and set their sights on Spanish holdings in Florida, attacking missions and St. Augustine. We recommend our users to update the browser. Is Amazon actually giving you a competitive price? They were stamping the claim on their license plates decades before we ever did. The magnolia was voted the states favorite flower and tree by school children in 1900 and 1935 respectively (both votes were later made official by the states legislature), its no surprise that the fragrant flower also gave rise to the states nickname. Something important to note is, despite Florida being nicknamed the sunshine state for several years, it is not the sunniest state in the U.S.; that label belongs to Arizona. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Floridas climate is extremely humid and tropical, and it has been since its discovery, experiencing mostly incredibly sunny days with a mean daily temperature of 71F (22C). Its also no coincidence that the state flower is the orange blossom. Florida's nickname is "The Sunshine State," adopted officially by Florida legislature in 1970. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'statesymbolsusa_org-box-1','ezslot_6',102,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-statesymbolsusa_org-box-1-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'statesymbolsusa_org-box-1','ezslot_7',102,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-statesymbolsusa_org-box-1-0_1');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'statesymbolsusa_org-box-1','ezslot_8',102,'0','2'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-statesymbolsusa_org-box-1-0_2');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'statesymbolsusa_org-box-1','ezslot_9',102,'0','3'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-statesymbolsusa_org-box-1-0_3');.box-1-multi-102{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:3px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:3px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;min-width:300px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}, Source | Reference Links | Additional Resources, Top Ten Places that will defy your image of Florida. And almost all of them live outside of Jacksonville proper in Ponte Vedra Beach, the wealthiest enclave in St. Johns County, which is itself the wealthiest county in Florida north of Palm Beach. the most historical hotel in every state. The clouds come up, it pours heavily for an hour to 4, then the clouds go away. inhabiting the state, which is tied with Louisiana for the most. The nickname The Flower State is derived from the states name, Florida, which in Spanish refers to flowers. So are all these famous monuments. When the Europeans arrived in the 16th century, they started selling Indigenous people and brought disease and warfare that decimated the native population. More than 3,000 Seminoles were forcibly moved before the U.S. government withdrew in 1842 without signing a peace treaty. So if sunshine is what people want, theyd go to New Mexico, right? I now live in TN where it is cloudy and gray about 250 days per year and yet rains much less (per year) than Florida. , so its easy to see how it got this name. Beginning in the late 19th century, residents of Northern states flocked to Florida to escape harsh winters. Florida has roughly 230 days of sunshine a year, so its easy to see how it got this name. What does it mean when you wear a bandana in your back pocket? And think about it claiming a natural resource we have no control over may have caused us to ignore the beautiful waters lapping at our feet. This nickname came into general usage in the 1930s, according to the Indiana State Library, as a result of John Finleys poem, The Hoosiers Nest, which was published in the Indianapolis Journal, on New Years Day 1833. Rhode Island refers to itself as The Ocean State to promote tourism to its beaches. The nickname "Sunshine State" entices winter-weary visitors to Florida, more so than "Alligator State" or swampy "Everglade State" ever could. He named it Pascua de Florida or "Feast of Flowers" for the succulent flora and abundant flowers. Live. Previous state nicknames included The Land of the Hearts Desire, The Land Without Law, The Science State, The Space State, The Atomic State, and many more, according to NewMexi.co. Re: Why is Florida called the sunshine state? The Palmetto tree is the states official, it appears prominently on its flag, and its the states nickname. Was this also one of the state's flowers, or do I have it confused with another state? Arizona leads that list, followed by . Became law in 1970 flower of Florida Act of 1995 applies to meetings Oregon state flag the state... Travel videos about top Florida destination great abundance of unsettled land, earned. Official, it pours heavily for an hour to 4, then the clouds go away to! 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