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Interesting Facts
- Delaware Black Tags: Why are some Delaware license plates black with low numbers? These are the original porcelain state license plates issued more than 50 years ago. For their owners now, the 'black tags' denote lineage, status and/or wealth, and Delawareans know the lower the number the better! Tags 1, 2 and 3 are reserved for the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Secretary of the State; remaining original black tag numbers – less than 87,000 – become available only when someone dies or a tag lapses. Active tags may be purchased through the classifieds or tag brokers, but they aren't cheap. Tags with four or five digits sell for a few hundred to thousands of dollars, but as numbers go down, prices go up – way up! In February 2008, black tag #6 sold for a record $675,000.
- Delaware is the place to be ... incorporated! More than 50% of all US publicly traded companies and 60% of the Fortune 500 call the First State their legal home. Thanks to corporate-friendly state laws and a respected Court of Chancery, more than half-a-million businesses worldwide including Coca Cola, General Motors, Wal-Mart and Disney are chartered here. High-profile corporate legal cases play out often in the US District Court in Wilmington. As a result, Wilmington has a large population of attorneys and national law firms with downtown offices.
- Ashland, Smith and Wooddale – these are the three covered bridges remaining in Delaware and they are just outside the city of Wilmington. These charming reminders of Delaware's past are very much in use daily and are maintained by the Delaware Department of Transportation. Wear and tear and recent flooding necessitated repairs that will be completed in summer 2008. They are just one lane; to cross, cars have to take turns.
- Wilmington loves a festival, and the social scene and community measure the year by the coming and going of these celebrations. From Winterthur's Point-to-Point races and tailgating, to Flower Market's old-fashioned carnival and plant sale on Mother's Day weekend; from Cinco de Mayo, Greek, Polish and German festivals with ethnic foods and dancing, to the Italian Festival with revelry in the streets of Little Italy. 'Cool' nights prevail at the Clifford Jazz Festival, and cold nights signal holiday celebrations and First Night New Year's Eve fireworks at Rodney Square. And that's just a few of what's on the calendar! Best of all, most festivals raise funds to benefit the community and agencies that serve it. Wilmington's residents, businesses and charities partner to make life better for all! To sample the true spirit of Wilmington, check the paper and attend a festival!
- Delawareans are crazy about crabs – the local Chesapeake Bay Blue crab, that is. Mostly, they love crab cakes – sweet mounds of lump crab meat, a little seasoning, a little something to keep it moist, and little or no filler; sautéed or broiled with lemon. That's it. Nearly every Wilmington restaurant will have them on the menu, and friends and family will feud over which is best. Everyone agrees, however, that the best crab cakes are in Delaware. Sorry, Maryland!
- Delaware has no sales tax. That makes Delaware a shoppers' haven! Shoppers' can stretch their dollars here, but they also seem to collect a lot of pennies – the change from all those purchases ending in ninety-nine cents.
- What do the town square in the center of downtown Wilmington and your pocket have in common? Perhaps Caesar Rodney. Best known for his historic ride to Philadelphia in 1776 to cast the deciding vote for independence, Rodney was a Delaware statesman and hero. In Caesar Rodney Square, an equestrian statue honors his heroic ride. If you check your pocket, you may have a Delaware Statehood Quarter; the first of the statehood quarters issued. Rodney is portrayed on the back of it.
- North of Wilmington, nearly all of Delaware's border with Pennsylvania is a perfect arc. No other state has such a border. Known as the Twelve-Mile Circle with its center fixed at the cupola of the court house in New Castle, it dates back to a deed to William Penn in the late 1680s. Interestingly, the arc border extends across the Delaware River giving Delaware ownership of the river up to the low-water mark on the New Jersey coast. Though the border has been challenged several times, the US Supreme Court has upheld Delaware's ownership of the river in every case, most recently in April 2008.
- Wilmington is known as the "Credit Card Capital of the World," and large signs on nearly every tall building declare it is true. Favorable banking laws in the 1980s attracted national banks and their credit card operations, and the city experienced growth as a financial center. Later, international banks ING Direct US Headquarters and Barclays set up shop, too. A major employer in the region, the banking presence in Wilmington has supported cultural arts, charities and the renaissance of the downtown and Riverfront areas.
- A discovery in Wilmington in the 1930s changed modern life. Nylon, the world's first true synthetic fiber, was invented by Dr. Wallace Caruthers at The DuPont Corporation. An instant success replacing silk in ladies' hosiery, nylon was later used during World War II for important military applications including nearly 4 million parachutes. From tires to toothbrushes, nylon changed the world.
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