Delaware Day spotlights the state's 'Florida man' history & goofy laws

It's easy to see a video online of men doing goofy or hilarious things, and claim the man is from Florida.

But let's not act as if Delaware doesn't have "Florida man" culture embedded in its DNA.

In celebration of the annual Delaware Day on Thursday, Dec. 7, we offer a look at some bizarre things about the Small Wonder that people would swear happened in Florida.

What is Delaware Day?

This holiday celebrates Delaware becoming the first state to ratify the federal Constitution in 1787. But it wasn't until 1933 that governors of Delaware started proclaiming Dec. 7 as Delaware Day, per Delaware.gov.

'Redneck' country festival in Millsboro 

Imagine playing a game of horseshoes where the goal is to toss a toilet seat around a pitching stake. That's one of the "redneck-themed events'' from the Millsboro Country Festival, a whacky festival the Greater Millsboro Chamber of Commerce presented in 2013 and 2014.

The festival attracted thousands and was full of games like the Super Redneck Challenge, in which contestants bowled using big trashcans as pins. Participants also tossed TV remotes into a large, tubed TV while sitting on a couch.

There was a concert by the far-flung string group the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, a respected outfit that brands itself as delivering: "Entertainment with a Capital 'N.'" 

The Millsboro Country Festival attracted a couple thousand people to their events.

Newark man took deer on joyride

It's not every day you find a deer riding shotgun in a car while the driver is bumping rap music. That's the kind of bond Messiah El of Newark had with his furry pal Bambi.

In February 2022, El formed an unlikely friendship with the deer. Videos of him and Bambi cruising in his car and hanging out inside his house were shared on social media. Some found the videos endearing. Others were alarmed, including the police.

El said he didn't think it was a problem to invite Bambi inside his home because he never kept her overnight. They'd hang out inside his house, with the permission of El's mom; and once it got late, he'd let her out his back door, which led to the woods. Bambi would show up at his house days later, and they'd do it all over again, he explained.

The authorities eventually contacted El that year because it was unlawful for him to bring a deer into his house as it constitutes illegal possession of wildlife in Delaware, a spokesperson from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control told Delaware Online/The News Journal.

Don't pretend to sleep on a bench in Rehoboth

Before careful about where you lay your head in Rehoboth Beach because making the wrong decision could be a civil offense.

In Rehoboth, for example, it's a violation for a person to sleep on or be "pretending to sleep on the boardwalk" of any bench there located in any pavilion at the end of any street, according to Chapter 126 of the Municipal Code of the City of Rehoboth Beach.

It's also a violation for a person to sleep or lie in, or pretend to sleep in any parked or standing vehicle on any public street or other public place within the corporate limits of Rehoboth, also according to Chapter 126.

Pawnshops can't sell wheelchairs or fake limbs

If your family member no longer needs to use a wheelchair, it makes sense to sell it to a pawnshop, right? Not in Delaware. The wheelchair police will roll up on pawnbrokers who attempt to take or receive as a pledge, or sell, any wheelchair or "artificial limb," according to Chapter 23 under Title 24 of the Delaware Code.

Real 'Fight Club' happened in Delaware

It's been 24 years since Brad Pitt starred in the hit film "Fight Club" that was set in Wilmington. The movie was about underground street fighting.

The film's Delaware connection came back into the spotlight in 2014 after a 60 Minutes Sports report on Showtime revealed organized, underground fights were happening in Wilmington, run by a New York filmmaker, actor and gangster with Mafia ties.    

Edgar Allan Poe's Delaware curse inspires sex-doll film

There's a popular old tale that famous and troubled poet Edgar Allan Poe (the dude who penned "The Tell-Tale Heart") had a grudge against Delaware.

The story, which is shared on the Deer Park Tavern's website, claims Poe lectured at Newark Academy and he's believed to have fallen in the mud after slipping from a carriage at the St. Patrick's Inn, which originally stood in the place of Deer Park Tavern since 1747.

Poe was so mad that he cursed the business: "A curse upon this place! All who enter shall have to return!"

That curse inspired Wilmington filmmaker Brian Wild's 2022 film "Boxanne," which tells the story of a man trapped in Delaware who falls in love with a sex doll.

Wild's take on Poe's curse was a little different because in "Boxanne" the poet's curse extends to all Delawareans who were born here, dooming them to never get out of the state.

In 2017, the sister duo Larkin Poe headlined the first night of the Lady Bug Festival in Wilmington. Larkin Poe, who have played multiple Lady Bug Fests, are descendants of the tortured poet, press materials stated.

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.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Day is reminder of state's quirky 'Florida man' vibes