VIN MANNIX column | Strangely speaking, Florida's No. 1

Florida, the strangest state in America?

Yeah, so.

Tell us something new.

Tableseed.com., an e-mail marketing firm in Madison, Wis., analyzed 2,000 Associated Press “strange news” stories this year, and 169 originated in the Sunshine State.

That’s all?!

Bradenton just got three mentions.

Imagine that.

n Man lets boy drive for a “bonding moment.”

n Man tries to steal laptop to check Facebook.

n Cremated remains stolen during burglary.

Manatee County received our only other mention.

It’s not trapper Justin Matthews’ python capture hoax, either.

n Detective duped by fake police lights, arrests driver.

Maybe our strangeness isn’t strange enough compared to the other doozies that made Florida No. 1.

To wit:

n Lotto winner seeks to open nude dude ranch in Brooksville.

n Man using sleeping bag as cape attempts heist in Gainesville.

n Man allegedly flings jellyfish at teens at Madeira Beach.

n Bank’s thumbprint rule irks Tampa man born with no arms.

n Pair charged with stealing skunk from Sarasota pet store.

Then there are several lulu stories involving 911 calls.

n Sarasota man tries to fool cops by calling 911 during stop.

n Boynton Beach man calls 911 after eatery runs out of lemonade.

n Men call 911 after bad drug deal in Daytona.

n Man allegedly calls 911 to say he’s hungry in Delray Beach. Twice.

n Fort Pierce woman calls 911 three times over McNuggets.

n Man calls 911 after Zephyrhills clerk refuses to sell beer.

Only in Florida.

Yeah, we’re No. 1, all right.

What’s also amusing is who is ranked below us — or is that above us? — in this “Strange Top 10.”

In order, it includes New Hampshire, Alaska, Wyoming, Maine, Wisconsin, Vermont, Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Ohio.

No California?

Now that’s strange.

Tableseed.com. ranked the nation’s strange cities, too.

New York City is No. 1.

Shocking!

Right behind it are Lincoln, Neb.; Madison, Wis.; Philadelphia; Chicago; Cincinnati; Boston; Detroit; Dallas; Pittsburgh; Columbus, Ohio; Salt Lake City; Des Moines, Iowa; Portland, Ore.; San Antonio; Cleveland; Sheboygan, Wis.; Fairbanks, Alaska; and Denver.

Tampa is No. 20.

Slackers.

How can Lincoln beat Tampa for strangeness?

Tableseed.com said they throw animals at police.

We’d never, ever do that.

Mannix About Manatee, by local columnist Vin Mannix, is about people and issues in Manatee County. Got a strange story that cements our No.1 ranking? Go to the Mannix On Manatee blog at Bradenton.com/blogs and include it.