Joyce Reingold at the Shiny Sheet assures us that it’s so:

But after a review of 2,000 AP news stories from the past year, it’s official: Florida is the weirdest news state of all.

In fact, not only was The Sunshine State the biggest source of strange news, it was the “runaway winner,” according to a press release from Tableseed.com, the company behind the study.

Here are some of the 169 headlines that helped Florida secure this honor:

  • Man calls 911 after eatery runs out of lemonade — Boynton Beach
  • Florida lotto winner seeks to open a nude dude ranch — Brooksville
  • Dead shark left in Miami street after failed sale — Miami
  • Man wearing sleeping bag as cape attempts robbery — Gainesville
  • Man allegedly flings jellyfish at teens at beach — Madeira Beach

“Where the animals are tame and the people run wild” isn’t just my slogan any more.

Things are made worse by the fact that Drudge, who lives in Florida, gives preference to weird Florida news all of the time.  And that means that everybody knows the truth.