Who is Florida Man?

harrisonreed · by **harrisonreed** » 2019-10-07 7:04 a.m.

Why does this super hero, Florida Man, keep making headlines? And how is it that he has so much fun, while he is off saving the world, and making headlines!?

AndrewMeronek · by **AndrewMeronek** » 2019-10-07 5:09 p.m.

There does seem to be something about Florida. Finding similar stories about men from other states turns up criminals, but the head-scratching behavior more often from the Florida variety seems to have no equal.

Here in Michigan, they tend to be just mean or sad. For example, "Michigan man driving an ambulance charged for possession of psychedelics."

That doesn't compare to "Florida Man Arrested For Allegedly Breaking Into A House And Trying On Baby Clothes While Holding A Woman Hostage" or "Florida Man Arrested For Tranquilizing And Raping Alligators In Everglades."

Bach5G · 2019-10-07 5:53 p.m.

Elmore Leonard once said he set many of his stories (eg Get Shorty, Maximum Bob, Rum Punch) in Florida because, he said, anything can happen in Florida.

harrisonreed · by **harrisonreed** » 2019-10-07 6:51 p.m.

Does the same thing happen in say, the UK? If someone does something really great -- say, they won a Nobel Prize -- the headline reads "UK citizen wins Nobel Prize"

But if that same person is arrested for public indecency, they become a super hero: "Scottish Man walks pet alligator into traffic, nude"

Like that?

Gary · by **Gary** » 2019-10-07 7:07 p.m.

You don't hear much of Hawai'i Man. He's just busy being mellow.

HawaiiTromboneGuy · by **HawaiiTromboneGuy** » 2019-10-07 10:37 p.m.

[quote="Gary"]You don't hear much of Hawai'i Man. He's just busy being mellow.[/quote]

With all the crime going on lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if that changes shortly.

Doubler · by **Doubler** » 2019-10-08 12:19 a.m.

[quote="AndrewMeronek"]There does seem to be something about Florida. Finding similar stories about men from other states turns up criminals, but the head-scratching behavior more often from the Florida variety seems to have no equal.

Here in Michigan, they tend to be just mean or sad. For example, "Michigan man driving an ambulance charged for possession of psychedelics."

That doesn't compare to "Florida Man Arrested For Allegedly Breaking Into A House And Trying On Baby Clothes While Holding A Woman Hostage" or "Florida Man Arrested For Tranquilizing And Raping Alligators In Everglades."[/quote]

:good: :lol:

Gary · by **Gary** » 2019-10-08 12:18 p.m.

I was asked "Who is Florida man?

I interpreted it as just a joke. The baddest man around takes the name (real or metaphorically) of the state of origin. If you want a more specific answer, it's available on google.

pompatus · by **pompatus** » 2019-10-08 12:23 p.m.

[quote="harrisonreed"]Why does this super hero, Florida Man, keep making headlines? And how is it that he has so much fun, while he is off saving the world, and making headlines!?[/quote]

To paraphrase Commissioner Gordon:

Florida Man...he's the hero Florida deserves, but not the one it needs right now...

Schlitz · 2019-10-08 2:45 p.m.

AndrewMeronek · by **AndrewMeronek** » 2019-10-08 2:54 p.m.

[quote="Schlitz"]Out in the stix here in WA, we have the glorious Kitsap Peninsula, and the sparkling MSA of Bremerton/Port Orchard. Commonly known as the armpit/jock strap area, y’all look like amateurs to these people.

<LINK_TEXT text="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21758302/ns/u ... ZzXlrJlCfA">http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21758302/ns/us_news-weird_news/t/they-taught-us-shop-class-use-right-tool/#.XZzXlrJlCfA</LINK_TEXT>[/quote]

Impressive. :amazed:

Doubler · by **Doubler** » 2019-10-10 12:52 a.m.

[quote="Schlitz"]Out in the stix here in WA, we have the glorious Kitsap Peninsula, and the sparkling MSA of Bremerton/Port Orchard. Commonly known as the armpit/jock strap area, y’all look like amateurs to these people.

<LINK_TEXT text="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21758302/ns/u ... ZzXlrJlCfA">http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21758302/ns/us_news-weird_news/t/they-taught-us-shop-class-use-right-tool/#.XZzXlrJlCfA</LINK_TEXT>[/quote]

If only he would have squatted down and put his face up close to see that he was aiming at the right lug nuts, he could have been a candidate for the Darwin Awards. Sadly, he can't even claim: "You'll shoot your eye out!"

elmsandr · by **elmsandr** » 2019-10-10 9:06 p.m.

[quote="harrisonreed"]Why does this super hero, Florida Man, keep making headlines? And how is it that he has so much fun, while he is off saving the world, and making headlines!?[/quote]
I realize this is just a joke prompt, but the real reason is that Florida actually has some pretty great public disclosure laws for public agencies (including police, fire, and emergency services) that forces them to disclose all current cases and events to the media. When the media figured this out, they have used this as a method to fill a few extra inches in newspaper print editions. Do it for a little while and it just becomes habit for everybody to use a new “Florida Man” stories when you need to cut to something different in a news cycle.

Well, that and the prevalence of extreme heat and meth. Those will make you do some weird stuff, man,

Cheers,

Andy

JohnL · by **JohnL** » 2019-10-11 12:59 a.m.

I used to see a lot of "wacky" news coming out of the Miami Herald being published in the McClatchy papers out here on the west coast. They don't do it as much any more, but there's still the odd, odd story from time to time.

and don't forget Florida Man's more well-traveled rival, Local Man.

harrisonreed · by **harrisonreed** » 2019-10-11 4:05 a.m.

Aaaah! How could I have left out Local Man???

Kbiggs · by **Kbiggs** » 2019-10-11 11:28 p.m.

You know who he is... he’s “that guy,” the guy who has such breathtakingly poor control over his executive functioning that even his better decisions are questionable. Yesterday, he was in Washington. Today, he’s in Florida. Tomorrow, he’ll be in... Montana? Texas? New Hampshire? Who knows?

AndrewMeronek · by **AndrewMeronek** » 2019-11-10 6:35 p.m.

Step aside, Florida Man:

<LINK_TEXT text="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/ ... /40581481/">https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/11/10/michigan-battle-ax-intruder/40581481/</LINK_TEXT>

A West Michigan man used a replica battle ax to thwart an intruder who interrupted an episode of “Rick and Morty.”

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Who is Florida Man?