#30: Nub City, Florida

There are always wild news stories coming out of Florida. No hate to the Sunshine State. It’s just something that many people have noticed. These wild and strange stories aren’t new. Back in the 1950s and 60s, strange stories of lost limbs started coming out of Vernon, Florida. This may sound like a funny “Florida” story on the surface, but it’s actually pretty tragic. Over these two decades, Florida made up two-thirds of the country’s lost limb insurance claims. 

The number of people who lost limbs in Vernon became so widespread that people started calling it “Nub City.” So, what was going on here? It turns out that Vernon residents were voluntarily shooting and injuring themselves to file insurance claims and rake in large sums of money. The Vernon economy was in dire straits during the 50s and 60s. Most people were unemployed. People were so desperate for money that they were willing to amputate their own limbs.