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Week of September 15, 2008 

Florida becomes American
July 17, 1821, under the watch of General Andrew Jackson and with the Star Spagled Banner playing, the Spanish Flag was lowered and the American Flag raised, thereby making Florida a US Territory. 

Florida becomes a State
Florida became an official State of the US on March 3, 1845 upon President John Tyler's signature; the last day of his term.  Total residents at the time:  66,000. 

Floridian or Floridan
If you were born and raised in Florida are you a Floridian or a Floridan?  Either is considered acceptable, however Floridian has been the most accepted since the 1920's.  According to "The Florida Handbook 1999-2000", a resolution was presented and rejected in 1925 resolving that citizens of Florida by birth and adoption "shall be henceforth known as Floridians."  The reasoning was "The word Floridian is musical, poetical, euphonious, and easily rolling off the tongue," while "the word Floridan is harsh, unmusical and unjustified by precedent." 

Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County was the 47th County and was established on April 30, 1909.  The County derived its name from the coconut palms on the Atlantic Ocean. 

Walking Catfish
Have you seen a Walking Catfish in Florida?  Well, they are not native to Florida.  According to "The Florida Handbook 1999-2000", Walking Catfish escaped from a Broward County fish farm in the mid 60's and made their way into Lake Okeechobee.  These fish are actually native to Thailand and they move from lake to lake using their pectoral fins.  They reproduce rapdily and crowd out native species.