Resolved: Delaware Does not Exist

[Spoke]

I don't get it. I never meet anyone who admits to being from Delaware. I would like to knock it off of my "states not visited" list, but it always seems to be out of the way, wherever I happen to be (as if the whole state were some mapmaker's afterthought.) Nothing newsworthy ever happens there. When's the last time Delaware showed up on the front page of the paper for anything?

I am reluctantly drawn to the conclusion that Delaware does not exist. It is an elaborate hoax concocted by a coterie of "Delaware corporations" seeking to avoid governmental regulation. (What better way than to incorporate in a non-state?)

Can anyone disprove my hypothesis?

[oldscratch]

I liken people who claim to have been to Delaware to those who claim to have been kidnapped by aliens. Sure, it could have happened, but it all likelyhood it didn't.

[kunilou]

I have been to Delaware and I can attest to its somewhat tenouous existence.

Northern Delaware might better be called "suburban Philadelphia." Southern Delaware might better not be called at all.

Value judgments aside, yes, Virginia, there is a Delaware.

[Spoke]

Yeah kunilou, now tell us your abduction story. :rolleyes:

[andygirl]

AHEM.

I live in Delaware.

It's flat and boring, but it's here.

In Delaware the chickens outnumber people 60 to one. They get very angry when their home state is questioned.

So... if you hear a pecking at the door, you might want to break out the Shake&Bake...

[wireless]

Such as Visa or Mastercard?

Chances are the company that issued it is based (at least leagally) in Delaware. Wilmington, DE, most likely.

It's the credit card capital due to favorable corporate laws and the fact that they don't limit the interest that can be charged "customers."

So does that prove Delaware actually exists?
I mean it could just be some giant kind of Mail Boxes Etc.-type post office front, I suppose.

OK, how's this...
I lived there as a child.
My mom lives there now.
I have the Toll receipts to prove it.

[wireless]

Thomas Capano and Anne Marie Fahey -
the subjects of both a 20/20 feature
and an A&E City Confidential.
(Now THAT's validation for you!)
.
.
.
.
OK, I'm having trouble coming up with another example, so you may have something there...

Most people know DE (if they do ata all) as a toll on I-95 between Philadelphia and DC.

[psycat90]

I've been to Delaware, though I must admit, had it not been for the sign that said "Welcome to Delaware" I would have thought I was still in Jersey.

[Spoke]

Hmmm...

How do we know the so-called Delaware tollbooth isn't just some scam by the state of Pennsylvania to extract more money from interstate travelers?

And...Thomas Capano and Anne Marie Fahey

erm....Who?

wireless, face it. Your childhood was a lie. You grew up on the eastern shore of Maryland (if indeed that truly exists...)

[andygirl]

Tom Capano was a very rich, powerful lawyer in Wilmington. One of the wealthiest families in the state. He killed the scheduling secretary of the governor, Anne Marie Fahey. Big trial, big scandal, ect. He was found guilty.

Hmm... proof that DE exists.

Let's see. Why in the world would I admit living here if it didn't. (Okay, not very good. Must try again.)

Chickens! A lot of the world's chickens are from DE. We also are a major supplier of scrapple.

Du Pont started here. And we have tax-free shopping.

Question: Are you doubting that the land itself exists, or that the state exists?

[Spoke]

And andygirl, I do not fear your phantom army of imaginary chickens. Everybody knows chickens come from Arkansas. :rolleyes:

Look, if there's something in your past you want to hide, fine. Go ahead and tell people this fake story about growing up in Delaware. Hell, tell them you grew up in Narnia. They'll never check up on it. Just don't try to convince us Dopers. We know better...

[Spoke]

Question: Are you doubting that the land itself exists, or that the state exists?

As far as I'm concerned, the entire state is the invention of some clever corporate lawyer. Probably in-house counsel for DuPont. I'll bet the state doesn't even appear on maps prior to 1920.

And for all I know, andygirl, you are some pin-striped Wall Street lawyer yourself, perpetuating the mythical creation of your corporate masters. How do you sleep at night?

[andygirl]

I don't sleep at night. I steal small babies from their cribs and force them to undergo hypnotic sleep therapy after which they will automatically hail Tom Carper as a God and worship Senators Roth and Biden, even though one looks like he hacked out a hunk of carpet, colored it with magic marker, and stapled it to his head and the other failed at his mission to become President, making him the fallen angel of our precious little cult.

These children then grow up to be the next generation of "Delawareans", convinced that their idyllic childhoods consisted of shopping and chicken farming!

Of course Delaware is on the maps. We changed them all.

I stomp on small puppies! I eat Cthulhu sandwiches! I am the Illuminati!

I am DELAWARE! FEAR ME!

Listen to the voice that is Delaware... closer now, closer... spoke- does not exist. Only the chickens. We like chickens...

There is no conspiracy. Move along now, nothing to see here.

[Erika]

I too, have first hand experience with Delaware. Admittedly, I go there mostly to shop, but I DO go there, on a reasonably regular basis. So there.

[Montfort]

All I know about the alleged "existence" of Delaware is that little stretch of I-95 I avoid past Elkton, MD, on my way up to Philly.

How can a place that doesn't exist justify charging travellers $2 for the right to drive in it?

[Cervaise]

Random bit of trivia:

Fight Club is set in Delaware.

No, really. Listen to the DVD commentary track (or read the book). It's never mentioned or shown during the actual movie, but the filmmakers inserted a few subtle references to the state so anyone who knew what they were looking for could tell it's on purpose.

Not sure this is much of an answer for the OP, given the revelation at the end of the story...

[AWB]

I've been through two parts of DE, southern and northern.

For the former, it was when I was returning from Ocean City, MD, and decided the traffic back to DC was too heavy on US 50. We decided to veer off into Delaware. Bad move. The state highways there were gridlocked because of all the others returning from OC that had the same thought.

For the latter, I've gone through it many times on my way to visit in-laws in New England. Besides the toll for the priviledge of driving 15-20 minutes in their state (NH is the same way), they're also real sticklers for the speed limit. On my first ride through DE to Philly, the driver of our car got ticketed for going 65 in a 55.

[Satan]

My father got a speeding ticket once while going through Delaware.

This surprised me at the time since the distance one has to travel from the (admittedly very cool) dual-suspention bridge to the other end of the state is hardly enough time to get a station wagon full of kids up to the old 55 limit, let alone to surpass it.

If Delaware does not exist, my dad wants his money back...
__________________
Yer pal,
Satan

TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING:
Four months, two weeks, 37 minutes and 39 seconds.
5441 cigarettes not smoked, saving $680.13.
Life saved: 2 weeks, 4 days, 21 hours, 25 minutes.

"Satan is not an unattractive person."-Drain Bead
Thanks for the ringing endorsement, honey![/i]

[AWB]

Their motto: The First State. BFD! Their ancestors got their homework done early, then sent it to Philadelphia, which is just across the border. I betcha the Founding Fathers from DE got wedgies and swirlies from all the other delegates. :D:D

[betenoir]

Hey! My grandfather lives in Delaware! And if it didn't exist, would my grandmother have divorced him to avoid moving there?

[MysterEcks]

Delaware was originally part of Pennsylvania. They broke off when the Penns weren't paying attention, and nobody even noticed until approximately 1857. Delaware has the distinction of being the northernmost slave state, not abolishing slavery until the 13th Amendment.

Delaware's main function is keeping Connecticut and Florida separated on lists of the states. Hey, somebodyhas to do it.

[capacitor]

Hmm...I noticed that several of my bills goes to banks in this fantasy land called Delaware. If I ignore them, will they send repo-fairires to my house?

[Little Nemo]

A list of people who are supposedly Delaware natives: Gomez Addams, Valerie Bertinelli, Boris Badenov, Divine, Philip Glass, Billie Holiday, H.L. Mencken, Babe Ruth, Upton Sinclair, Superman, John Waters, and Frank Zappa. I ask you, how likely is it that all of these people are from one small state? I think it's like when the Coneheads claimed to be from France; these people had to say they were from somewhere and "Delaware" was the first thing that popped into their mind. And if these people really exist how come nobody knows what to call them. Everyone's heard of New Yorkers, Californians, and Texans. But who knows a Delawarian, Delawarite, Delawaroid, or Delawarerer? And can it be a coincidence that the last four letters of "Delaware" are the last four letters of "beware" and that they can be rearranged to spell E-war warning us of their plans to launch electronic warfare from their orbital mind control lasers? And can it be a coincidence that the first four letters of "Delaware" can be rearranged to spell "lead" the only material which can be made into a helmet to block those laser transmissions from entering a human brain? And can it be a coincidence that the odd letters of Delaware are all consonants and the even letters are all vowels? Okay, that last one could be a coincidence. I'm still working out the details here.

[JamesCarroll]

I've lived in Delaware the last 10 years; even graduated from the University thereof. It's a pleasant little place. The only problem with Delaware is that (at least in Northern Delaware where I live) there's not whole lot going on. It's mostly suburbs and the largest city, Wilmington, is like a ghost town after 9 pm. And our sports teams have weak names. The UD football team is a consistant top 10 team in Div II, but with a name like the "Fighting Blue Hens" it's kinda hard to be taken seriously. And our local baseball team (Kansas City's A affliate) is called the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Go figure.

[activgurl]

Ah, you have to go to Delaware to enjoy the loveliest of vacations at Slaughter Beach! Nothing like a beach full of horseshoe crabs to make a memorable trip!

[Fugazi]

/slight Hijack

I was watching Sports Center the other day & they were showing scores from the Little League World Series. There was a team from New Hampshire. My first thought was "what's a team from England doing in the American pool". Then I said "Oh Yea, we have a state called New Hampshire".

At least Delaware has some credit card companies. I say New Hampshire doesn't really exist

/end slight Hijack

[Rosebud]

I have been through this so-called Delaware many times, on my way to Hunt Valley, Maryland-- a small stretch of hotels and strip malls that itself may exist only in the mind. I'm not sure if anyone really lives there.

[Myrr21]

Originally posted by Little Nemo
A list of people who are supposedly Delaware natives: Gomez Addams, Valerie Bertinelli, Boris Badenov, Divine, Philip Glass, Billie Holiday, H.L. Mencken, Babe Ruth, Upton Sinclair, Superman, John Waters, and Frank Zappa
A lot of those people are from Maryland.

In fact, these here are all from the fine city of Baltimore, MD:

John Waters
Divine
Billie Holliday
Frank Zappa
H.L. Mencken
Philip Glass
Upton Sinclair
Babe Ruth

Valerie Bertinelli is the only confirmed Delaware native (and how on earth do you put Superman in there? He was born on another planer, and wasn't raised in Delaware either).

See? There really isn't anybody famous who even claims to be from Delaware...

[Alphagene]

Thank you Myrr. I was just about to bring that up.

Actual Delaware natives (according to IMDB):
Valerie Bertinelli
Judge Reinhold
Elisabeth Shue
Ryan Phillipe
Jessica Darlin (pornstar featured in such films as Planet of the Gapes)
William Alland (producer of Creature from the Black Lagoon and many MST3k movies)
Yvette Freeman (one of the regular nurses on E.R., also was in the show Working)

Died in Delaware:
Cab Calloway

[Yankee Blue]

Well, I've driven by Caesar Rodney High School countless times and I don't know what other state would name something after him. And he did sign the Declaration if Independence under the heading Delaware.
I've been to a couple of beaches preported to be in Delaware.
I've been to Winterthur Museum also listed as a site in Deleware.
And one of my credit card does hail from there.
So I think Delaware exists, I just think it's a subversive state.

[Spoke]

Ah, you have to go to Delaware to enjoy the loveliest of vacations at Slaughter Beach!

Has anyone here seen Dark City?


I still am not convinced that Delaware exists outside the imaginings of some crafty and covert cabal of corporate conspirators. The fact that some of the posters here claim to be from Delaware simply means the conspiracy is more widespread and better-organized than I thought. I fear for my hard drive...

It occurs to me that I have never seen a Delaware license plate. Why? I have seen licence plates from Hawaii, Alaska, and even Guam, for crying out loud, but never Delaware. If there were such a state, would its citizens never venture outside its borders?

Well, I've driven by Caesar Rodney High School countless times and I don't know what other state would name something after him. And he did sign the Declaration of Independence under the heading Delaware.

Caesar Rodney???!!! How made-up can a name be? Where did he sign? Right under Kilroy? Pfffttt! This "Caesar Rodney" person belongs on the list with Gomez Adams, Superman, Boris Badenov, and all the other fictional characters who hail from this pretend "state."

The UD football team is a consistant top 10 team in Div II, but with a name like the "Fighting Blue Hens" it's kinda hard to be taken seriously. And our local baseball team (Kansas City's A affliate) is called the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

See, this just reinforces what I'm saying. There cannot possibly be a football team called the "Blue Hens!!" I mean, come on! Who would go to their games??? It's all a big inside joke for those "in the know." Don't you get it?

"Blue Hens." "Blue Rocks." I begin to wonder if the color blue has some special meaning to this sinister Delaware group...

[Ukulele Ike]

Sure Delaware exists....it's a long strip of land you have to drive through to get to the discount cigarette stores and fireworks stands near Chincoteague, Virginia.

Much like Indiana being a thing one must drive through to get to Chicago, and Connecticut being a thing one must drive through to get to New England.

Besides, all us hep cats and beatniks pay it homage when we say "That guy's a square, man...strictly a square from Delaware."

[cmkeller]

I have actual pictures of signs that say "Welcome to Delaware." Although, I do have to admit that I never felt particularly welcome there, so the "Delaware" part might have been a lie as well.

[oldscratch]

Originally posted by cmkeller
I have actual pictures of signs that say "Welcome to Delaware." .
And I have pictures of Jackalopes. Your point?

[Ukulele Ike]

According to http://www.findagrave.com there are exactly sixteen famous people buried in Delaware.

Most of them are famous Delaware statesmen, so I suppose getting planted in Delaware after they died was part of the job description, plus the ubiquitous Caesar Rodney.

The other famous person is Bill McGowan, the famous baseball umpire.

Hey, don't mention it.

[Olentzero]

Hey, Mrs. O and I have been to Delaware City, where you feel like a king and a king feels like a crazy super coo-coo king.

Oh no wait, that's Capital City...

Actually we went there to find the Tzeroling and her auntie, who were reportedly there for a Civil War reenactment camp on Pea Patch Island, the site of a Union war prison. But since we didn't actually find them there we could have dreamed the whole thing up.

Now if Sweden had held onto it instead of selling out to the English, the place woulda been something. All we got now is the Kalmar Nyckel in Wilmington, and even that's not there all the time.

Now, to address a few pointedly misguided comments...

From andygirl:
I eat Cthulhu sandwiches!

No, Cthulu eats you sandwiches. Remember that.


From AWB:
Besides the toll for the priviledge of driving 15-20 minutes in their state (NH is the same way)

New Hampshire is only like that if you're driving via Portsmouth to Maine, instead of heading north to the White Mountains like the real adventurers do.

From Fugazi:
"Oh Yea, we have a state called New Hampshire"

I say New Hampshire doesn't really exist

Moved to Merrimack in 1973, Hudson in 1986, Nashua in 1992. Driven the length of the state three or four times. Sorry, pal, it's there. I'd hate to think I chose to flee Vermont because I kinda like the state and I was born there.

[Little Nemo]

Myrr, I write that everyone should be wearing a lead foil helmet to protect themselves from orbiting mind control lasers and the biggest fault you can find with my logic is that I misplaced Baltimore? What can I say, at 2:45 AM I'm easily confused.

For the record however, Superman is indeed a Delaware resident albeit not a native son. The Atlas of the DC Universe clearly states that his hometown, Metropolis, is in the state of Delaware. Consider the implications of the fact that Delaware's most famous citizen is a fictional character.

[JosephFinn]

Originally posted by Little Nemo
Myrr, I write that everyone should be wearing a lead foil helmet to protect themselves from orbiting mind control lasers and the biggest fault you can find with my logic is that I misplaced Baltimore? What can I say, at 2:45 AM I'm easily confused.

For the record however, Superman is indeed a Delaware resident albeit not a native son. The Atlas of the DC Universe clearly states that his hometown, Metropolis, is in the state of Delaware. Consider the implications of the fact that Delaware's most famous citizen is a fictional character.


Delaware?!? Metropolis is in frigging Delaware? I'm ordering this book through Bibliofind just to find more to gripe about. That and I want to see where they stuck Gotham.

[Myrr21]

Well, you see, Baltimore--despite it's problems--is a real city in a real state, not some dinky little theoretical triangle putting the "Del" in "DelMarVa"; we get a little antsy when people forget that :)

Now repent for your sins or I'll have to exile you to Delaware. Ooh, boy, that'd be fun: "hey, I'm supposed to be in Delaware...but it...doesn't...exist...auuughhh!"

[andygirl]

I've been thinking.

Okay, so apparently Delaware doesn't exist... and yet, the area I am in has a very large gay community.

Delaware is a gay conspiracy!

Oh, there is no *way* that Superman is from here. We'd have it in all the papers.

[Little Nemo]

JosephFinn: New Jersey

andygirl: You should subscribe to the Daily Planet.

[uberDave]

I was born and raised in Delaware. (That does probably explain a lot :) ). Small state, nice folks. The home of corporate America. As I understand it, Delaware has more companies incorporated in it than any other. My father worked for DuPont. The First State.

But, if you'd ask me, our most favorite son (and most famous) is that slide guitar playin' boy George Thorogood. Of George Thorogood and the (Delaware) Destroyers. Surely, any blues lovin' rocker has heard of him.

[oldscratch]

Yeah, like we're supposed to take a commies word on anything. :rolleyes:

Again. I need some objective proof that DE exists. So far all we've gotten is rumours and heresy. I could present a more convincing case that Atlantis exists than anyone's done for Delaware.

[Spoke]

I just noticed something else.

When I send a credit card payment to an address in Delaware, it is always a Post Office box, rather than a physical address.

Similarly, although many of our nation's corporations are in theory "Delaware corporations," their physical address is always someplace else.

Could it be that there are no physical addresses in Delaware because Delaware has no physical existence???

(If my credit card payments start going to a P.O. box in "Metropolis," I am really going to start to worry.)

[JosephFinn]

Originally posted by Little Nemo
JosephFinn: New Jersey

andygirl: You should subscribe to the Daily Planet.


Sheesh, no wonder Gotham is always portrayed as such a hellhole.

[wireless]

Originally posted by spoke-
I just noticed something else.

When I send a credit card payment to an address in Delaware, it is always a Post Office box, rather than a physical address.

Similarly, although many of our nation's corporations are in theory "Delaware corporations," their physical address is always someplace else.

Could it be that there are no physical addresses in Delaware because Delaware has no physical existence???



As I said way up top...


I mean it could just be some giant kind of Mail Boxes Etc.-type post office front, I suppose.


Anyway, spoke-,
I'm probably actually going there this weekend to (gasp!) TAKE PICTURES (for work, alas),
so, in advance, I'll ask, what in your mind would constitute proof?

If it's reasonable (and post-able), I'll try to oblige.

-Wireless

[JamesCarroll]

Hey did I mention pumpkin thunking? A bunch of rednecks gather in sLower Delaware and shoot frozen pumpkins with 30 ft pneumatic (sp?) cannons. Now that's a state!!!

[andygirl]

JamesCarrol,

You are, I'm assuming, referring to the immortal Punkin' Chunkin', an event just over a mile from my house, wherein drunken rednecks use hydraulic cannons to hurl frozen pumpkins across a field?

It's very boring around here.

Oh, but let us not forget the Apple Scrapple festival... Don't know what scrapple is? Take a pig. Kill it. Take away ham. Take away bacon. Take away sausage. What's left, more or less, is scrapple.

Ew.

Anyway, at the apple scrapple festival, there is a scrapple carving contest... one year the winner made a portraint of Mother Theresa.

[Spoke]

OK, wireless while you are in Delaware, please gather whatever evidence you find that convinces you of its existence. Pictures would be great, if you have any means of linking us to them. Shots of a Welcome to Delaware sign, or some actual Delaware licence plates, or some actual Delawaroidians. If you don't have the ability to link us to some pictures, then collect whatever vignettes or other evidence you can which tends to prove your experience was real, and not the product of hypnosis or a heavy meal before bedtime.

Then, when you get back, give us your evidence and make your case. We'll critique what you find and let you know if you've convinced us.

Deal?

[cmkeller]

spoke-

Shots of a Welcome to Delaware sign

See my post above, spoke-. I've got shots of that (and of almost every other state and almost every Canadian province as well).

Chaim Mattis Keller

[oldscratch]

Originally posted by cmkeller


See my post above, spoke-. I've got shots of that (and of almost every other state and almost every Canadian province as well).

Chaim Mattis Keller

Exactly. I disagree with spoke. That will not be enough. Anyone could fake shots like that. What we need is a live webcam of someone travelling from a neighboring state into delaware.

[wireless]

I'll see what I can do.
I hope I'm up to the challenge!

[Spoke]

cmkeller wrote:
I've got shots of [a Welcome to Delaware sign].
Suuure you do, Chaim.

Let's see 'em. Can you scan them and link us to them somehow? Otherwise, how do we know you're not just another co-conspirator spreading disinformation?

oldscratch wrote:
I disagree with spoke. [Photographs] will not be enough. Anyone could fake shots like that.
Hey, I'm not saying we would necessarily accept photographs as proof, but if we could see some, then we could at least have the opportunity to judge their authenticity for ourselves.

Believe me, I'm as skeptical as you are, my brimstone-scented friend.

[BobT]

Another alternative would be someone scanning a receipt from the Delaware Turnpike. If I were driving through again, I would ask for one just to prove that I was there.

I have a postcard from there also, but I think it was confiscated by authorities.

[oldscratch]

And I have the anal-plug that the aliens used against me. I'd be happy to share it with anyone who doubt's my alien sex stories. You're right spoke. At least with a picture we could examine it. The fight against ignorance must go on!

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Originally posted by Little Nemo
Myrr, I write that everyone should be wearing a lead foil helmet to protect themselves from orbiting mind control lasers and the biggest fault you can find with my logic is that I misplaced Baltimore? What can I say, at 2:45 AM I'm easily confused.

For the record however, Superman is indeed a Delaware resident albeit not a native son. The Atlas of the DC Universe clearly states that his hometown, Metropolis, is in the state of Delaware. Consider the implications of the fact that Delaware's most famous citizen is a fictional character.




Superman is native to the planet Krypton.

However, he was raised just outside of Smallville, Kansas.

[Gabz]

and not just in the minds of those of us that live here.

I happened across this site and this thread in particulawhile on vacation in California and was unable to gain access.

let's see: Yup, we got lots of chickens (hey it keeps the price in the store for it down); we've got lots of punkins to chunk; we got lots of banks and credit card companies; we've got lots of nationally known politicians (unfortunately); we've got lots and lots of scrapple and horseshow crabs; we've had a few nationally publicized murder trials; we've got lots of chemical Companies, not just DuPont; and we've got lots of out of staters with summer homes at our beaches.
These were the things I noticed being mentioned in an effort to prove that Delaware exists.

Here's some more: The largest mortuary on the Eastern seaboard - Dover Air Force Base (remember Jim Jones and Guyana or the Marine Barracks bombing in beirut - all those bodies came to Dover, along with all of the national media).

Two weekends a year of NASCAR Racing at the Monster Mile (Dover Downs International Speedway) which are broadcast nationally.

There it is folks the proof that Delaware does exist - watch the NASCAR Race on Sunday September 24 and you will know that Delaware truly does exist - and on behalf of those of us who do live here, please do watch it on television as opposed to adding to the traffic problems that force many of us to stay in our homes for the entire weekend!!!!!!

[Spoke]

Welcome to the board, Gabz.

Even if you are just a sophisticated computer program designed to simulate a Delaware resident.

[Gabz]

Thanks for the welcome......................

But what more do you need for proof that Delaware does exist?

How much non-internet proof do you need? Do you really not believe the online stuff - or can I give you some of that?

[lawoot]

Originally posted by Little Nemo
A list of people who are supposedly Delaware natives: Gomez Addams, ..., Boris Badenov, ... Superman, ...,Frank Zappa.

Gomez Addams - Fictional Comic Strip character
Boris Badenov - nope, Potsylvania
Superman - nope, Krypton, later Kansas
Frank Zappa - Baltimore, Maryland

[lawoot]

Originally posted by Myrr21
Now repent for your sins or I'll have to exile you to Delaware. Ooh, boy, that'd be fun: "hey, I'm supposed to be in Delaware...but it...doesn't...exist...auuughhh!"

THERE's the proof that Superman is from Delaware!!! It's the Phantom Zone that Kryton used to send their criminals to!

[Polycarp]

I must confess...I have been there.

Skulldigger and I took a vacation once which consisted mainly of a stay in Delaware. We toured the John Dickinson homestead -- and I'm surprised that a bunch of free spirits like this board's denizens haven't brought him up yet -- and visited Rehoboth Beach -- though it was spring, so there were no tourists except of the horseshoe crab variety. (There are those who suspect that Delaware is a conspiracy by the horseshoe crabs to get a foot hold in their nefarious Plan to Conquer All -- but that's a different topic altogether.) And Skulldigger observed and christened the Spritzenanderkroppewerke, strange irrigation devices of rural Delaware.

Like New Jersey, which as noted on another thread contains some worthwhile areas disguised by disgusting entry ports (Ho-ho-kus, Newark, and Camden), Delaware is one of the better kept secrets of the planet. (This part of the Xiphosurans' plan....)

Oh, and Oldscratch, about that device you have, I don't know how to break this to you, but...

Those weren't aliens.

[racinchikki]

If I only had a webcam...

I've driven through Delaware twice, but both times were late night on a school trip between New York and Washington, DC. The first time I'd been on the bus since 7 AM and could have been hallucinating out of boredom. The second time I'd had three hours' sleep over four days and taken three caffeinne pills, which might have led to the Delawarization.

However, on September 24 I'm off to Dover, Delaware to go to a NASCAR race...


I'm really torn between which state is more useless, Delaware or New Jersey. I mean, Delaware has NOTHING IN IT, but New Jersey is equally boring yet dirtier and smellier. I guess Delaware is more useless, but New Jersey is worse.
-- Jamie -- the ICC Chorale/Band DC Trip, hour 81

[Gabz]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by racinchikki
If I only had a webcam...


However, on September 24 I'm off to Dover, Delaware to go to a NASCAR race...



Not another visitor that weekend - can't everyone just stay home and watch the race? That's my birthday and I can't even go out for dinner because there is not a table in a restaurant to be had - if one can get through the traffic to get to the restaurant. A girl only turns 40 once and I have to contend with this nonsense!!!!!!????

(all said with tongue firmly planted in cheek, except about my birthday!)

Racinchikki, since you have been around here longer than I , could you please post here when you get back home from the race and explain to these good, but mis-informed folks, that Dover, DE is really a nice place!!! Thanks in advance!!!

[racinchikki]

I'll be sure to provide a full report LOL :) Even though all I'll be seeing of it is the race track and wherever our bus ride drops us off... I'm sure your hometown has the finest parking lots in the union!

[Gabz]

You're correct on race weekend we do have the FINEST parking lot on the face of the planet! It is called US Route 13. ;)

[JamesCarroll]

Finally a third party of indisputable integrity has not only confirmed Delaware's exisitence, but also its allure. I direct you to this page http://espn.go.com/ncb/news/2000/0912/739055.html where none other than Bobby Knight says that when asked about a replacement for the Delaware BB coach, he should've taken it himself.

[lawoot]

Originally posted by JamesCarroll
Finally a third party of indisputable integrity has not only confirmed Delaware's exisitence, but also its allure. I direct you to this page http://espn.go.com/ncb/news/2000/0912/739055.html where none other than Bobby Knight says that when asked about a replacement for the Delaware BB coach, he should've taken it himself.



Bobby Knight? INTEGRITY? In the same breath, even?:D

MAYBE he was saying that going off to some formless void somewhere was preferable to not being a BB coach.

[Gabz]

It's here - it's race weekend and all of the normal people that live in Dover, Delaware are trapped in their homes until at least Monday. But they're calling for rain tomorrow which could postpone the race until Monday and that means those 130,000 extra people in this city will still be here.

Anyone who still believes that Delaware does not exist just has to turn on the NASCAR racing on TV or go to the NASCAR or ESPN website. Believe me - those of us who live here knows it exists during race week - the population of the State Capitol increases by at least sixfold if not more.

[Eo Echo]

Not to nitpick, but the fact that Dover Downs exists is not in itself evidence that the state of Delaware exists. Actually, I'm a Delaware believer. I spent a couple of years playing drums off and on for a Wilmington based band called Weed High Nightmare. So I intentionally travelled TO Delaware to hang out. Many times in fact, although I declined to move from Maryland. It was my joining of that band that led to my realization that Delaware was something more than the nondescript strip of land connecting my original hometown of Philadelphia to my adopted homwtown of Baltimore.

Of course, that's not eactly conclusive evidence that Delaware exists, either. I chalk it up to powerful hallucinogens.

[Gabz]

Originally posted by JBirdman12
Not to nitpick, but the fact that Dover Downs exists is not in itself evidence that the state of Delaware exists.


I didn't mention Dover Downs. :)


Actually, I'm a Delaware believer.

I'm so happy to here that - you are one of the few!


[QUOTE]Of course, that's not eactly conclusive evidence that Delaware exists, either. I chalk it up to powerful hallucinogens.

Not fair!

[Gabz]

It's apparent that people really do believe that Delaware does not exist.

That's a shame - regardless of my seemingly disparraging remarks - it is a great place to live (I've been here 18 years) and a great place to raise a family.

[Eo Echo]

Originally posted by Gabz
[QUOTE]Originally posted by JBirdman12
Not to nitpick, but the fact that Dover Downs exists is not in itself evidence that the state of Delaware exists.


I didn't mention Dover Downs. :)


Actually, I'm a Delaware believer.

I'm so happy to here that - you are one of the few!


Of course, that's not eactly conclusive evidence that Delaware exists, either. I chalk it up to powerful hallucinogens.

Not fair!

I may or may not be joking. Thanks for not mentioning my abundant typos.

[andygirl]

In my new place of residence, I'm questioning my former home state's existence.

I'm convinced that everything I left behind was a figment of my imagination. I'm now questioning why my imagination came up with Dover Downs- I hate car racing.

[Cyn Lennin]

In fact, I'm posting this reply from a computer lab in the University of Delaware Library.

try http://www.udel.edu

I wish it wasn't so, but it is.

cyn

[racinchikki]

I actually was IN Delaware on Sunday, watching the race (and for those of you who whine about the traffic... go out of town for the day or something... I sympathize because I worked out at Watkin's Glen for the weekend in August, and couldn't even go downtown for dinner in Corning because of the traffic -- and that wasn't even a popular race -- but hey, think of all the revenue the area must get from 130,000 NASCAR fans stopping at restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations.)

Although, as far as Delaware goes, I'm still not quite sure it exists. New Jersey existed, all right, but all I saw of Delaware was a big field with a race track in the middle of it. And, along the road from the NJ border to Dover Downs, all there was on the sides of the road was fields.

Hmmmmmm.

[JosephFinn]

Wayne's World, searching for anything to say about Delaware:

"Hey, we're in...Delaware."

[Gabz]

racinchikki---

Of course we all get out of town that day - we have no choice!!!

Actually, that's not true, there are a few places that are not descended upon by the race fans on sunday!!!

I've got no problem with the revenue that comes into this town - just with the massive quanitities of trash that accumulate - because the rains came after the race, it took nearly all week to get rid of it.

[glee]

OK, Hampshire, England exists. (My friend George lives there).

Now to Delaware.
I'm impressed by your dedicated search for the truth of this so-called state's existence. It's what this board is all about.
But I can settle it completely.

Remember Perry Como?
Oh, you're all too young, I suppose. A fine singer, who sang a witty song about AMERICAN STATES. And the title was (drum roll) 'What did Della wear?' :D

(I think she wore a brand new Jersey..)

[Nimue]

My brother was born in Delaware by accident. You see, mom's water broke while crossing over the Delaware Memorial Bridge. I've seen my brother's SS#. It does indeed have a different prefix.

Because I grew up in Baltimore and most of my family lives on LI, I've driven through Delaware quite a bit. But I wouldn't say I've "been there." I mean, it was only a somewhat forested strip of I95 with a bridge and DuPont. However, I take it there isn't much else to see.

[Chance the Gardener]

Little Nemo said that Boris Badenov is from Delaware, but I know that's not true. He's actually from McKeesport, Pennsylvania, which is subtly alluded to in one episode of Rocky & Bullwinkle.

Badenov claims to live in Pottsylvania, a nation whose population is entirely made up of spies. He actually does, but the country is not actually called Pottsylvania. No one knows what it really is called; this is a secret and is not for general knowledge.

This being said, if Pottsylvania can pull it off, then maybe this "Delaware" can, too. I vaguely recall having been in someplace called "Delaware," but now I'm not so sure. There is reason to believe that Delaware sometimes calls itself Nebraska—for security reasons that are undisclosed by order of the governor's office in Linc— er, Dover.

[andygirl]

I was the youth governor of Delaware.

Does this mean I was involved in the conspiracy of a ficticious body?

cool.

[Eo Echo]

I once had a drunken weekend in New Castle. Although I must admit to a burning curiousity as to the whereabouts of the old castle.

[andygirl]

The old castle was destroyed in the first Chicken Uprising. (1843-1846). The media, being anti-Chicken bigots, immediately supressed all information pertaining to the uprising, which enslaved the chickens for another hundred years before the second Uprising.... but Delaware remembers. You can hear the chickens whispering in the fields at night... someday, someday...

[Eo Echo]

First of all, I'll sleep much better now knowing this. And second, why has there been no memorial fund, no scholarship, no day of rememberance in the name of the Great Chicken Uprising? I'm tempted to write my congressman. As soon as I finish this beer.

(note to Julie of New Castle: feel free to Fed Ex my underwear back at your own convenience.)

[andygirl]

Ah, but there is a scholarship. As I am the historian of the Great Chickens, they named a scholarship in my honor. Send any and all contributions to:

andygirl
Hinman Box 1085
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH 03755

Not tax deductible, but I'll mail you a cookie...

[Spoke]

andygirl wrote:
I was the youth governor of Delaware.

Yeah. And I am the Great and Powerful Oz.

[andygirl]

Actually, I was. Youth in Government is a YMCA program wherein a bunch of kids take over the state leg hall for a weekend. I did it for four year, and in my final year I was the youth governor. I got to go to a conference in DC, make a bunch of speeches, and sign mock bills from Governor Carper's desk. Good stuff.

Just for that, I'm going to call you Oz.

[Jonathan Chance]

Let us not forget the world of baseball...


DeLino DeShields was almost DeRookie of DeYear and he's from DeLaware...

[Spoke]

...sign mock bills...

Heck, that's just exactly what the "real" governor of "Delaware" does!

[Ukulele Ike]

Originally posted by Polycarp
We toured the John Dickinson homestead -- and I'm surprised that a bunch of free spirits like this board's denizens haven't brought him up yet

Last July all nine thousand-plus of us got together and swore a solemn pledge NEVER to mention John Dickinson on the SDMB. We signed our UserNames in blood and everything. It was WAY cool.

I think you may have been on vacation or something. We asked after you, anyhow.

[dtilque]

If Delaware doesn't exist, then how could Allen Funt have closed the place for a day?

[Gabz]

If no one wants to believe the existence of the State of Delaware - that is fine by me.

Tonight, I wish the State of Delaware and Dover Air Force Base did not exist.

The first of the men and women we lost on the USS Cole came home today - and they hit American soil in Dover, Delaware and I have not stopped crying.

MY prayers are with the families of the men and women on that ship and the men and women in any American uniform and their families.

[Spoke]

And so, this thread becomes yet another victim of Middle Eastern terrorism...

[L714]

Originally posted by uberDave

But, if you'd ask me, our most favorite son (and most famous) is that slide guitar playin' boy George Thorogood. Of George Thorogood and the (Delaware) Destroyers. Surely, any blues lovin' rocker has heard of him.

I was clicking down and would have disappointed if no one knew George. Boy, anybody who has seen the Destroyers play in Delaware, knows very well that it surely does exist!

[Spoke]

Originally posted by L714
Originally posted by uberDave

But, if you'd ask me, our most favorite son (and most famous) is that slide guitar playin' boy George Thorogood. Of George Thorogood and the (Delaware) Destroyers. Surely, any blues lovin' rocker has heard of him.

I was clicking down and would have disappointed if no one knew George. Boy, anybody who has seen the Destroyers play in Delaware, knows very well that it surely does exist!

OK, we've had a couple of people raise the "But George Thorogood is from there!" argument. Let's examine the evidence: George Thorgood begins recording music as "George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers"
Thorogood then drops "Delaware" from the name and records as simply "George Thorogood and the Destroyers

Why the change?

A couple of possible scenarios: George's group was a New Jersey bar band recruited by the DuPont Corporation to help perpetuate the "Delaware Lie". When he had served his purpose, DuPont cut off funding. In a fit of pique, George responded by dropping "Delaware" from the band name. He stopped short of exposing the lie, for fear of violent retribution by the various shadowy figures behind the fraud.
George, knowing full well that Delaware doesn't actually exist, named his band after the fictional state as a sort of hipper-than-thou inside joke. However, after a long parade of clueless interviewers peppered him with questions about his "home state," he grew tired of the mental strain of perpetuating the gag, and gave it up.

Can any of the Delaware proponents come up with a better explanation for George distancing himself from his purported "Delaware" roots?

[Racer Named Fisk]

OK, my brother once wrote an artice about this:

To quote:
Delaware itself is an idiosyncrasy of federalism; by all rights, it should be part of Maryland, not an independent entity with two votes in the Senate.

For the full dope on Delaware, check out the entire article here:

http://www.tnr.com/archive/0898/080398/diarist080398.html

Note that the first paragraph, while entertaining and informative, is not about Delaware. Read it anyway! Then keep reading till you get to the Delaware part. :)

Enjoy!

[pesch]

Thanks for the link, Fisk. I read through the thread, since I was going to Delaware next week and wanted to know if it was still there.

Then came the references to Dover Downs and the nascar race, the accounts of the race itself, and I'm saying WTF?

That's when I checked the dates and found this thread was begun last year . . .

[Tranquilis]

Harrumph.

More Delawarians checking in: Tranq, hedra, and epeepunk.

Items of proof:

- Dover AFB, home of Air Mobility Command (Formerly Millitary Airlift Command).
- Perdue Chicken.
- The Bob.
- DuPont.
- The Hotel DuPont.
- AstraZeneca.
- Applied Card Systems.
- MBNA.
- CitiBank.
- FirstUnion Bank.
- Chesapeke and Delaware Canal (deviding line between upper DE and sLower DE).
- Incorporation 18 hours a day, 364 days a year, including "while you wait" incorporation.
- University of DE.
- Lonesome George: He only uses "Delaware Destroyers" when playing in DE. Nobody else is good enough to get the full name.
- Blue Rock-hen: An extinct fighting bird, used to be for cock-fighting.

As for those of you wishing to see a Delaware license plate, you've no idea the horror that awaits you: It's the ugliest thing ever deliberately designed by humans. Oh, and DE is the only state east of the Mason-Dixon line.

The final proof? If you've a Roth IRA, then You've bet your retirement on the existance of Delaware: It was invented by Sen. Bill Roth (R-DE).

[patrick]

I must've got to this post pretty late, too.

I know that Delaware has to exist, because my diploma from U. of Delaware says so. If it didn't, I guess I'd be out on the street.

Fun Delaware fact: the arc at the top of the state has a twelve mile radius, with the center at the old courthouse in New Castle. Part of the Jersey shore across the Delaware bay is in Delaware, but only at low tide.

The license plates are flat without embossing. I guess that makes it tough for blind cops to read your plates.

I used to think the traffic sucked there, but then I moved to Seattle. Oh, how I long for the backup at Churchman's Marsh.

Go Hens!

[Superdude]

Originally posted by JosephFinn
That and I want to see where they stuck Gotham.

Actually, the Gotham flag that was shown in the "Batman" movie (with Michael Keaton) was the Indiana state flag. So now we know. Metropolis is in Delaware, Gotham is in Indiana (actually, that may not be far off. Given Gotham's high crime rate, it could very easily be Gary, IN).

[foolsguinea]

Originally posted by Superdude
Actually, the Gotham flag that was shown in the "Batman" movie (with Michael Keaton) was the Indiana state flag. So now we know. Metropolis is in Delaware, Gotham is in Indiana (actually, that may not be far off. Given Gotham's high crime rate, it could very easily be Gary, IN).What makes this even more surreal is that in the comics since the late 1980's, Metropolis is on the Great Lakes & Gotham is in the Mid-Atlantic seaboard.

[The Second Stone]

Shit, there is this one guy from Delaware I can't seem to shake. Everytime the news comes on, be it CNN, The Daily Show, or The Onion, there is Joe Biden, sticking his foot in his mouth.

[ataraxy22]

The stretch of I-90 in Delaware is also know as "Toll road of the living dead"

[Mongo Ponton]

Shit, there is this one guy from Delaware I can't seem to shake. Everytime the news comes on, be it CNN, The Daily Show, or The Onion, there is Joe Biden, sticking his foot in his mouth.

Biden's from PA. He's not really one of us.

Whereas Elena Delle Donne (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&q=delle+donne&oq=delle+donne&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=12&gs_upl=0l0l0l2372l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0) is.

[OldGuy]

Delaware was originally part of Pennsylvania. They broke off when the Penns weren't paying attention, and nobody even noticed until approximately 1857. Delaware has the distinction of being the northernmost slave state, not abolishing slavery until the 13th Amendment.

Well yes and no. Virginia extended north of Delaware until WV separated from it. After that it was.

[Alan Smithee]

What the hell, Second Stone? I was happily reading along, and then I got to a post by Satan. Talk about a zombie!

[ralph124c]

Yep, Delaware gave us Joe Biden-a man from another dimension (demention).
This is the guy who spoke passionately about his grandfather-toiling away in the coal mines of Delaware. A man who spent $100,000 on hair transplants-who laments how "politicians can't undertand the "little guys"-while eating truffles and filet mignon.
He is the kind of professional politician who is a curse-like the "old man of the sea"-he'll ride on your back till you drop.

[Ms Boods]

The stretch of I-90 in Delaware is also know as "Toll road of the living dead"

I-95; not only is it the interstate number, it's the speed limit (unless, like yesterday just to the south of Wilmington, they've closed off the right lane SB, and everyone is waiting until the last possible second to merge and arrggghh.)

--ms boods, born in DE, and moved back to DE (UD '87 and now they let me corrupt other young minds there)

[robert_columbia]

Out of curiosity, do other countries have a "Delaware" type place, i.e. a small, arguably out of the way place that everyone knows about but nobody has been too? I'd guess that Canada's Delaware would be PEI.

Btw: I have been to both.