What are Things Only People From Delaware Understand?

Here are the things only people from Delaware truly understand.

The Real Delaware Divide

You might think a state with only three counties would be unified. You'd be wrong. The state is unofficially split in two by the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal.

• Above the Canal: This is New Castle County. It's the northern, more fast-paced, urban and suburban part of the state, heavily influenced by nearby Philadelphia. This is where you'll find Wilmington, the state's largest city.
• Below the Canal: This is "Slower, Lower" Delaware. Encompassing Kent and Sussex counties, this is the more rural, agricultural, and beach-oriented part of the state. Life moves at a different pace, and residents like it that way.

The two regions view each other with a friendly suspicion, and crossing the canal can feel like entering a different state entirely.

You Are What You Drive... and What You Ate

In Delaware, status and identity are tied to some very specific things.

• Low-Digit License Plates: This is, without a doubt, the ultimate Delaware status symbol. While other states have fancy cars, Delawareans obsess over black-and-white (or black-and-porcelain) license plates with a low number. These plates are status symbols passed down through generations, and a single-digit or two-digit plate is a sign of old-guard family prestige.
• "What high school did you go to?": Because the state is so small, this is the first and most important question you ask a fellow Delawarean. It's not small talk; it's a vital piece of social geography that instantly places you, your family, and your entire social circle. Your town is secondary. Your high school is everything.
• The "Bobbie": This isn't a person. It's the state's unofficial sandwich, born at Capriotti's. A sub roll piled high with real-deal turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, it's Thanksgiving on a bun, and it's a Delaware original.
• The Grotto vs. Nicola Debate: If you're at the beach (and you always go to the beach, never "down the shore"), your loyalty is tested. Are you a Grotto Pizza person, loyal to the legendary "swirl" of sauce on top? Or are you a Nicola Pizza loyalist, devoted to the Nic-o-Boli? This is a serious culinary rivalry.

The Unwritten Rules of Food

Delaware has a unique and unyielding set of food rules.

• No Ketchup on Your Thrasher's: When you're on the boardwalk in Rehoboth, you get a bucket of Thrasher's french fries. You will douse them in salt and apple cider vinegar. If you ask for ketchup, you will be publicly (and correctly) identified as a tourist. They don't even have it.
• You Must Embrace Scrapple: To the uninitiated, this pork-scrap-and-cornmeal-loaf is "mystery meat." To a Delawarean, it's a breakfast staple. You slice it, fry it 'til it's crispy, and eat it with eggs (and maybe a little ketchup or syrup). It's so beloved it's part of the Apple-Scrapple Festival in Bridgeville.
• Steamed Crabs Aren't Just Food, They're an Event: Like their neighbors in Maryland, Delawareans live for blue crabs steamed in Old Bay seasoning. It's a day-long, communal, messy ritual that involves covering a picnic table in newspaper and committing to several hours of picking and eating.

Speaking the Language

You'll hear a few things in Delaware that just sound different.

• "Baggin' up": Not a grocery store activity. This means "cracking up" or laughing hysterically.
• "Slower, Lower": The affectionate (or sometimes derogatory) term for everything south of the C&D Canal.
• "Ignert": A catch-all term for someone acting ignorant, rude, or just plain stupid.
• No Sales Tax... Ever: This isn't just a quirk; it's a core identity. Delawareans feel a deep, physical discomfort at the very idea of paying sales tax and will proudly remind any out-of-stater of their tax-free paradise, usually while stuck in traffic behind all the Pennsylvania and Maryland cars who came to shop at the Christiana Mall.

For a peek at one of Delaware's most famous (and loudest) traditions, this video shows the Punkin Chunkin competition, a world-famous event where people build massive contraptions to launch pumpkins for distance.