Broward County, Florida: Divorce Your Spouse Online!

At the writing table for "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Adam Carolla and other seasoned comedians noticed a pattern: shifting through news stories, they found that the most bizarre, unsettling news either came out of Germany or Florida. They began a guessing game. Read the story aloud, leaving out identifying details, and see who can guess which location it's from. The game branched out to several of Carolla's other projects, such as the radio show Loveline, and it even had impromptu theme songs record by artists like Pink, Tori Amos, and Michelle Branch, all crooning:

"GERMANY, OR FLOOORRIIIDAA?"

Now, a story about online divorce proceedings is hardly on par with the man who had a bad acid trip that compelled him to cut off, fry, and consume his own toes. But it still has that quality, that certain undefinable "it," that makes you say: "only in Florida."

As of this month, Broward County residents can begin the process of divorce without leaving home. The service is geared towards people who cannot, for whatever reason, consult with a divorce attorney. Parking is expensive downtown, says the head of the county clerks who must deal with this paperwork every day, and it's entirely possible to do it at home. So why not provide that service?

The clerks are just as happy about it as potential divorcés might be. Tired of having to personally walk people through the process, they're thrilled that there is now a website to do it for them. The site explains legal definitions for a layperson, which is one less thing the county clerks have to do. Now they are receiving completed paperwork automatically, and can begin the legal divorce process with much less hassle.

What won't they think of next? Could there be more services like this in the future? Will lawyers be rendered more and more obsolete when we have websites to fill their shoes?

We can dream.