Unknown Family. 15 years ago, he found a box of 44 negatives at a garage sale in Aiken, SC, and after wondering about them for a long time, posted them to Flickr in October 2008 in hopes of learning who the family is. There are a few clues, but the search seems to have gone cold. [more inside]
posted by Devils Rancher on Feb 21, 2009 - 58 comments

Want to live for free (sort of) in a historic home? Maryland, Delaware, and Massachusetts all have resident curatorship programs, in which you can live rent-free in a historic home, provided you spend your own time and money renovating it. Contact your state's historic preservation office to see if there's a program like this near you...
posted by dersins on Sep 6, 2007 - 14 comments

Here’s the scenario. Halloween’s over. The kids have their loot. But you, the grownups, are stuck with pumpkin upon pumpkin upon pumpkin . . . what are you to do? You could just leave them out for the garbage collection but that’s not very inspired. A more creative option would be to head out to a field in rural Delaware, build a big-ass catapult or a big air cannon and let the fun begin. (A longer video can be found here.) The World Championship Punkin Chunkin contest has been hurling ripe holiday vegetables through the autumn air for two decades now and attracts a crowd in the tens of thousands. (Previously on MetaFilter).
posted by jason's_planet on Dec 10, 2006 - 13 comments

Maybe the rest of the United States could take a lesson from Delaware's long-standing tradition of Return Day. Return Day started in the 1800's, when residents of Sussex County would gather in the County seat two days after the vote to hear the election returns announced, close out their races, and start looking ahead to the next election. It has grown to a day-long festival featuring a ceremonial burying of the hatchet and a parade in which opposing candidates for each race have to share a carriage. Of course, sometimes the hatchet-burying is only ceremonial. This year's campaign for Governor was ugly and so, apparently, was yesterday's carriage ride. On the other hand, in a local County Council race, now in a recount with a difference of three votes, the trailing candidate was heard to joke to the leader yesterday "Lynn, I can't stand this. Why didn't you just beat the hell out of me so I didn't have to do this?" Oh yes, and Punkin' Chunkin' starts today.
posted by mmahaffie on Nov 5, 2004 - 8 comments

"I don't care what anyone but a court of law thinks," says Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker "Until a court says otherwise, if I say it's constitutional, it's constitutional." Sure, we've talked before about how Delaware is a cesspool of evil, but that was before it was reported that the cops in Wilmington were compiling a database of future suspects, before crimes were actually comitted.
posted by ph00dz on Aug 27, 2002 - 78 comments

It starts with Delaware... Over at Google Answers, a Microsoft Games Studio employee has posted a most interesting puzzle to solve. Over the course of the last twenty months a list of states has been gradually revealed by his boss, but under what criteria are they listed? He's giving $200.00 to the winner; just think of what you could buy. The fine folks at the Straight Dope are already on the case. To the Googlemobile! [via Cardhouse]
posted by thewittyname on Aug 22, 2002 - 75 comments

The Enemy Within. Which minority group in the U.S. has long since mastered the crafts of free-riding, self-dealing and cravenness? Their cunning results in the victimization of countless honest, hard-working Americans. [courtesy aldaily.com]
posted by apollo3000 on Aug 15, 2002 - 18 comments

Reverse discrimination? Kathleen Carter, who is white, says that when she became chairman of the education department at historically black Delaware State University in 1995, she was told that she was usurping blacks' right to govern themselves and that whites in the department were trying to make blacks look bad. via Fark
posted by Rastafari on Mar 22, 2002 - 16 comments

A new Darwin Award Winner? The county passed an ordinance to stop the proliferation of exotic pets. This guy should have taken the hint.
posted by plaino on Jan 17, 2002 - 9 comments

This weekend in Millsboro, Delaware is the 16th annual Punkin Chunkin World Championships, in which pumpkins are propelled distances approaching a mile from old-style catapults and huge air cannons. Anyone else going?
posted by donkeymon on Nov 3, 2001 - 6 comments

Redbird reefs of the coast of Delaware (NYTimes). When I came back from vacation, I was surprised to find that using old NYC subway cars as artificial reefs was being put into action (with a great pic of the cars being pushed off barges). NYC gets creative in getting rid of its trash, but this is the most creative way I've heard of yet.
posted by meep on Aug 30, 2001 - 3 comments