In Florida, it may be hotter than Hell, Michigan on July 4

KFC wants to know: Is it really hotter than Hell this summer?

In Florida it could also be hotter in Frostproof or Christmas than in Hell, Michigan. Don't confuse the Michigan hamlet with Hell for Certain, Ky., Hell, Norway, or Hell in the Grand Caymans

In honor of the spicy taste of the brand's KFC Hot Wings, the chicken chain announced that Americans living in cities and towns that record temperatures hotter than those in Hell, Mich., have a chance to win free Hot Wings. The "Hotter than Hell" offer is for a five-day period ending July 4, 2008.

If local temperatures are "Hotter than Hell," Web visitors can register to win free KFC Hot Wings. The first 500 people who register their hometown's temperature as "Hotter than Hell" at kfc.com between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET each day will win. Enter here.

Check the Pickney, Mich., temperature, the town nearest to Hell.

Because of Michigan's climate, people expect Hell to "freeze over" during winter. Hell residents, referred to as "Hellions," determine if Hell has frozen over by whether the water over the spillway of the dam between Screams Ice Cream and the Dam Site Inn has stopped flowing.

Hell has frozen over once -- on January 24, 2004, according to Hell's Wikipedia entry.

Hell's main export is kitsch about the town's name - and diplomas from a fictional university.

The tiny town may be in the same category as Frostproof, Florida.

For the past 80 year's Frostproof's main export has been a marketing ploy and millions of boxes of citrus. Frostproof's name was chosen to convince potential landowners that the town has never had, and never would have, a frost that could destroy the large citrus-driven economy. Previously it had been known as Keystone City.

Several years after the name change, a frost killed most of the citrus in the region. Check the weather at Frostproof here.

The heat in Florida and the Wolverine region of Michigan won't take the heat out of discussions about gasoline and travel costs during the long holiday weekend.

Travel for the Independence Day weekend is expected to decrease nationwide, by 1.3% compared with last year, resulting in 40.4 million Americans traveling a distance of at least 50 miles from home while gas prices above the $4 per gallon mark.

In Florida, more than 2.3 million people are projected to drive and another 200,000 say they will travel by plane. In Georgia, slightly more than 1 million plan to drive and another 100,000 say they will fly. In Tennessee, nearly 700,000 are projected to drive and another 66,000 are expected to travel by plane.

"Our Independence Day holiday brings a great opportunity for families to enjoy a three-day weekend and we expect a great many will head to the beaches, theme parks and community gatherings especially to enjoy fireworks displays,” said Kevin Bakewell, senior vice president, AAA Auto Club South. Bakewell added that even though there may be a slight decrease in the number of travelers, more than 13 percent of the nation’s population is projected to travel and that means we should anticipate a noticeable increase in traffic on the interstate highways this weekend.

Current fuel prices in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are approximately $1.10, $1.12 and $1.05 more per gallon, respectively, than they were on this date in 2007. The rising cost of gasoline is also believed to be contributing to an increase in train travel. Amtrak reports that the volume of passengers nationwide from October 2007 through May of 2008 is up by nearly 11 percent over the same period from the prior year.