Since Delaware has already adopted a state bird (blue chicken), sea creature (horseshoe crab), and insect (ladybug, which is actually an insect) – is the Little Wonder ready to officially add a state cocktail?
Legislation introduced House Bill 444 on Thursday, June 6, with thirsty plans to designate “Orange Crush” as the state cocktail.
The bill’s lead sponsor is Rep. Peter Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach.
The bill reads: “Orange Crush was made famous and became synonymous with Dewey Beach, Delaware” and “The Starboard in Dewey Beach, Delaware has perfected the Orange Crush and serves the most Orange Crush cocktails of any bar in Delaware each beach season.”
HB 444 states that Orange Crush is made with freshly squeezed orange juice, orange vodka, Triple sec and lemon lime soda with crushed ice.
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As parched Delawareans wait for the possibility of Delaware getting a new state cocktail, here’s a look at some interesting and lesser-known state symbols that you may not have known were adopted accordingly. (Source: delaware.gov/guides/facts)
Wait, Delaware already has a state drink?
While lawmakers fight for Delaware to designate a state cocktail, milk has been the state drink since June 3, 1983. That means the First State could eventually have two official drinks on tap.
Delaware’s state dinosaur wears a gold chain
Not only did Delaware get a state dinosaur on June 29, 2022 – the state dinosaur design is fresh to death. The Dryptosauridae (“Drip-tuh-sore-uh-dee”) wears a derby hat, sneakers, and a gold chain with a large medallion with the letter “G”. The dinosaur (and all their “drip”) came from the imagination of students at Shue-Medill Middle School. The students wrote House Bill 390, successively convincing lawmakers that Delaware should adopt the Dryptosauridae, a dinosaur whose bones were found in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
The state of Delaware has its own star
On June 30, 2000, Delaware flexed its space muscles by adopting a star, the Delaware Diamond. That followed a contest sponsored by the then-Delaware Museum of Natural History (now the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science) and won by 12-year-old Amy Nerlinger in the summer of 1999.
Delaware Diamond, a star of magnitude 12, is located near Ursa Major with coordinates of right ascension 9h40m44s and declination 48°14’2. The Diamond can be viewed with a telescope or binoculars and is the first star in the International Star Registry to be registered in a U.S. state.
Why does Delaware have a macroinvertebrate state?
Because Delaware has a thing for insects, the state crowned the stonefly the state’s macroinvertebrate on May 4, 2005. It may sound strange that Delaware recognizes a state fly, but the state did this to raise awareness about water quality issues and to celebrate civil rights. action programs like Delaware Stream Watch that aim to make our waterways less polluted.
The decision to choose the stonefly was supported by several schools: Gunning-Bedford Middle School, Salesianum High School, Delcastle Technical High School, Dickinson High School Environmental Club, The Independence School, Springer Middle School, St. Andrews School and The Charter School. of Wilmington.
Have you seen the Delaware state butterfly?
There are three state insects in Delaware and one of them is the large, yellow and black-striped tiger swallowtail butterfly. The swallowtail was selected as the state butterfly on June 10, 1999. The insect is native to Delaware and can be found in forests, along streams, rivers, wooded swamps and in cities and towns throughout the state. Students at Richardson Park Learning Center in Wilmington selected three different butterflies and then 1,611 of 3,175 public and parochial students across Delaware voted to propose to the Legislature that the tiger swallowtail represent the state.
Do you eat Delaware’s state dessert?
Considering how popular funnel cake is, you’d think it would be the official dessert of Delaware. But guess again. It’s peach pie. This tasty treat has represented the state since July 30, 2009. Its origins date back to peach farming, which was an important part of the state’s agricultural history. Delaware was the nation’s largest peach producer for part of the 18th century. At its peak, the state shipped six million baskets of peaches to market in 1875. Because of the state’s peachy history, students at St. John’s Lutheran School in Dover suggested that peach pie be recognized as the state’s official symbol.
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Wilmington children select a fossil from the state of Delaware
The state dinosaur and the fossil may sound the same, but they are two different things. Delaware’s state fossil is belemnite, which is basically an extinct squid with a cone-shaped shell. The creature is a member of the phylum Mollusca, which includes mussels, snails, squids and octopuses. People can find Belemnite fossils around the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. That’s where Martin Luther King, Jr. Kathy Tidball Elementary School (Wilmington) students found fossils and lobbied to honor the ancient specimen as a state fossil. Their wish was granted on July 12, 1996.
If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared in Delaware News Journal: Delaware may be getting a state cocktail. Discover 7 other state symbols
