sinkholes, etc.

This made me laugh:​

The best part may be the tiny Bugs Bunny jumping for joy on Cumberland Island, GA, after he cuts Florida off.  ​

Except it's not that implausible (apologies to Orwell for that construction).  This week a Tampa man died when a sinkhole opened up under his bedroom.  Sinkholes have long been a problem in Florida, making it difficult to find a company willing to insure your home (well, that and the hurricanes), and they're getting worse.  A combination of extended periods of drought and too much pumping from the aquifers is wreaking havoc.  And the governor and legislature seem uninterested in doing much about it (the pumping, that is).  ​

One of Gainesville's best known landmarks is a giant sinkhole, Devil's Millhopper.​  It's actually quite beautiful, and in the summer it's lush and at least a little cooler inside it.  Local residents walk up and down the hundreds of wooden steps for exercise.  It's all great fun, especially since no one died or had their home destroyed when it was formed a few hundred years ago.

photo of Devil's Millhopper from the Florida State Parks website

Before I moved to Florida I didn't know anything about sinkholes.  Well, that's not exactly true--a sinkhole plays an integral role in The Simpsons Movie, but I had no firsthand knowledge of them.  They just don't happen where I grew up.  Now I know people who have had them buckle the floors in their homes.  In this, and many other ways, living in Florida has been very​ educational.