It turns out thereB次元官网网址檚 a B次元官网网址淔lorida ManB次元官网网址� in all of us.

A social media challenge is encouraging people to look up what version of Florida Man they are based on their birthdays.

Florida Man has become shorthand for a unique brand of news story mined from the Sunshine State that usually involves guns, drugs, booze or reptiles B次元官网网址� often in startling combination.

The challenge asks people to run their birthday and B次元官网网址淔lorida ManB次元官网网址� through a search engine to find out which Florida Man headline pops up. Then, like all good things, they must post the result on social media.

The challenge has become a social media sensation, which isnB次元官网网址檛 surprising given that the Florida Man concept crept into the nationB次元官网网址檚 consciousness with the @_FloridaMan Twitter account in 2013.

The Twitter account, with the tagline B次元官网网址淩eal-life stories of the worldB次元官网网址檚 worst superhero,B次元官网网址� has been home to recent headlines such as B次元官网网址淔lorida Man Fire Bombs Garage That Impounded His Car, Hits His Own VehicleB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淔lorida Man Tried to Pay for McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 With Weed.B次元官网网址�

The less common, but no less noteworthy, B次元官网网址淔lorida WomanB次元官网网址� subgenre has produced headlines such as B次元官网网址淎 Florida woman was arrested and charged with aggravated assault without intent to kill after she reportedly B次元官网网址榝arted loudlyB次元官网网址� in a Dollar Store and then pulled a knife on a man who complained.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淥nce, it seemed as though all the weird people and stories came from California. But over the past decade, it shifted to Florida,B次元官网网址� said Jim Clark, a lecturer in the University of Central FloridaB次元官网网址檚 history department. B次元官网网址淣ow, when I see a bizarre story, I am surprised when it is not from Florida.B次元官网网址�

A combination of factors helps Florida birth these astounding tales.

For starters, itB次元官网网址檚 the nationB次元官网网址檚 third largest state, with more than 20 million residents, and a random sample of any population that large is guaranteed to produce its share of the outrageous. Florida is also blessed with a liberal public records law that allows these stories to surface into plain view with little resistance or concern about taste.

And then thereB次元官网网址檚 the combination of subtropical temperatures, palm trees and endless blue skies that seems to inspire some people to shed all inhibitions. Under the right circumstances, couldnB次元官网网址檛 we be tempted to follow in the footsteps of B次元官网网址淣aked Florida man revealed on video sneaking into restaurant and munching on ramenB次元官网网址�?

Mike Schneider, The Associated Press

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