As we all know, Florida is quite an interesting state. It is seen by many people in the United States as one of the most peculiar states– with the alligators that inhabit every body of water, hurricanes that repeatedly target our state every year, incredibly hot weather, and of course, the Florida Man. A newspaper tagline and an internet meme, Florida Man has been a popular phrase since 2013 and has caused Florida to hold a strange reputation. 

‘Florida Man’ refers to a Florida resident, usually male, who has committed a bizarre action. These stories usually make headlines that are then spread across the internet. The meme began with a Twitter account with the name @_Floridaman, which would share some unique and strange news headlines employing the words “Florida Man.” They began to refer to Florida Man as the “World’s Worst Superhero.” The stories of the Florida Man are incredibly bizarre and, at times, almost completely unbelievable. Here are a couple of stories that are the most absurd and mind-boggling of Florida’s “superheroes.”

Florida man drives stolen truck to Space Force base to warn of battle between aliens, dragons 

WESH 2 News reported Corey Johnson, 29, drove a stolen vehicle to a Space Force Base in an attempt to explain that the President had spoken to him and told him that he needed to steal the truck in order to warn government officials about dangerous aliens and Chinese dragons. 

Florida Man Arrested After Posing as Disney World Employee and Stealing ‘Star Wars’ R2-D2 Replica 

A Florida man was arrested for stealing a $10,000 Star Wars R2-D2 replica by taking a worker’s clothing and belongings. He reportedly did this to “show weaknesses in the security of the resorts” and attempted to land a job at one of the resorts, but he was obviously unsuccessful.

A Florida Man Became Hospitalized After Attempting to Share a Kiss with Water Moccasin 

Who knew snakes weren’t the best kissers? Austin Hatfield, 18, found a water moccasin, brought it into his home, and kept it inside of his pillow. He stated that he would occasionally take it out and kiss it. One day it jumped at him and bit his mouth. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

Florida Man Trapped in Unlocked Closet for Two Days  

John Arwood, 31, and Amber Campbell, 25, had been chased by an unknown assailant to a college campus. They attempted to hide in the closet and ended up becoming stuck there for two days. They had apparently tried to get out of the closet but were unsuccessful. But when police arrived on the scene, they discovered that the closet was unlocked the entire time.

Florida Man Tries To Evade Arrest by Cartwheeling Away From Cops 

This Florida man had been seen stopping a truck by doing a backflip, causing police to arrive on the scene. Instead of running, he decided to make his daring escape by doing cartwheels. He did not get very far.

Florida man charged for throwing hot dog at St. Pete police officer 

Though St. Pete may seem to be much tamer than the rest of Florida, we were still unable to escape one of the World’s worst superheroes. Jason Stoll, 47, was running a hot dog stand after his street closure permit had ended. After officers asked him to put down the hot dogs, he attempted to get in a few more sales before becoming upset and throwing the hot dog at an officer.

Florida man arrested for slapping police horse on butt 

Yet another strange story from the beautiful city of St. Petersburg. Officers claimed that Alisha Lalani, 27, without reason or provocation raised his hand to the horse’s rear end. He claimed he was unaware that he was not allowed to strike a police horse. He then ended up being arrested and charged with battery.

While other areas across the country have some strange stories to tell, Florida holds the reputation for being one of the weirdest states, and we can blame Florida Man for giving our state the reputation it has today.