佛罗里达男子把鳄鱼绑在车顶上开了一路

Speaking of strange things that happen in Florida, this might be the funniest of the year.

Two tourists in Florida strapped a dead alligator to the roof of their car.

Then drove across several counties.

And finally got caught by the police.

Let's talk about this story.

These two men, one named Anthony Buhl.

Fifty-six years old.

From New York.

The other named March Chadwick.

Fifty-seven years old.

From Tennessee.

They were vacationing in Florida.

One day while driving they saw a dead alligator on the road.

Probably hit by a car.

This kind of thing is very common in Florida.

Florida has about 1.3 million alligators.

1.3 million.

That's more than some countries' populations.

They're everywhere.

In lakes.

In rivers.

In your backyard.

In parking lots.

Sometimes even on golf courses.

So seeing a dead alligator on the road isn't strange.

But these two men decided to take it.

They said they wanted to turn the alligator into a specimen.

A specimen is when you preserve a dead animal.

Make it look like it's alive.

Then display it at home as decoration.

Some people like collecting animal specimens.

But in Florida you can't just take alligators.

Whether alive or dead.

Alligators in Florida are protected by law.

Taking one is a crime.

These two men might not have known this rule.

Or they knew but didn't care.

They loaded the alligator onto the car roof.

Then tied it down with rope.

A big alligator just like that, strapped to the roof.

Then they hit the road.

Someone first spotted this vehicle near Disney World.

Yes.

Near Disney World.

The place where you go to see Mickey Mouse.

Imagine that.

A car.

With a big alligator strapped to the roof.

Passing by Disney.

Too surreal.

Someone reported it to police.

But these two kept driving.

Later someone told them this was illegal.

What did they do?

They didn't throw the alligator away.

They took out a white sheet and covered the alligator up.

As if not seeing it means it's not there.

But the outline of an alligator.

Even covered with a sheet.

Everyone can tell it's not a suitcase.

Police tracked the car through license plate recognition.

Finally stopped them in Melbourne.

Melbourne is a city on Florida's east coast.

Not the one in Australia.

Both men admitted they knew taking an alligator was illegal.

But they did it anyway.

Both were arrested.

Charged with illegal killing, possession, or capture of alligators.

This is a felony in Florida.

Each posted five thousand dollars bail.

Court date is April 28th.

This story caused a lot of laughter in America.

Because it's so typical.

In America there's a type of news called "Florida Man" news.

When someone in Florida does something completely outrageous.

This kind of news often trends.

Like "Florida man uses alligator to break window."

Like "Florida man rides alligator across the road."

These headlines seem fake.

But in Florida they're real.

But what's interesting this time.

These two men are not from Florida.

They're tourists.

From New York and Tennessee.

But Florida's energy still got to them.

When you go to Florida.

People change.

That's probably the magic of this state.

Actually there's a real reason why "Florida Man" news is so common.

Florida has a law called the "Sunshine Law."

This law says all government records must be public.

Including police arrest records.

Anyone can see them.

Reporters can see them.

Ordinary people can too.

So in Florida.

Every strange arrest gets discovered.

Then gets reported.

But in other states?

Same strange things happen.

You just can't see them.

Because those states' records aren't public.

So it's not that Florida people are crazier.

It's that Florida's law lets you see all the crazy things.

But regardless of the reason.

This story made everyone laugh.

Sometimes news doesn't need to be serious.

Making people laugh is good too.

Especially when every day is bad news.

One alligator on a car roof.

One white sheet.

Two arrested tourists.

This is one of the funniest news stories of the year.