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P_G_1021

Delaware


barbiemoviedefender

It’s funny because Delaware was literally the first state in the US lol


ParoxysmAttack

Their Department of Tourism slogan for a while was "Its good being First".


barbiemoviedefender

One of my coworkers lives in Delaware (we’re a virtual team) and it’s her favorite fact


WaldenFont

Is it her only fact?


barbiemoviedefender

No she also has Biden being “from” there (since I guess he wasn’t born there but moved as a kid and represented Delaware in congress)


HatoradeSipper

The funniest part of this is that delaware has a department of tourism


LootenantTwiddlederp

Their current slogan is "Endless Discoveries". I lived in Delaware for 3 years, and I can tell you that the discoveries do indeed end pretty quickly. I think I did everything there is to see and do in Delaware in 6 months.


ParoxysmAttack

I mean I grew up 15 minutes from the beaches in Maryland but I will say Delaware has some nice beaches. Quiet. That's about all they have to offer though.


DBHT14

And the NASCAR track!


Orienos

Listen, I’ve always thought this claim was funny, like a guy who couldn’t last in bed and rushed to sign the constitution just to be first. In reality, it was one of the last colonies to be established. Virginia was the first colony to be founded followed 13 years later by Massachusetts.


barbiemoviedefender

Yeah I guess Congress just measures it by the date the state ratified the Articles of Confederation since technically the colonies weren’t part of The United States™️ because it didn’t exist yet


New_Stats

Hard to remember a place that doesn't exist anywhere except on paper so corporations don't need to pay taxes


IPreferDiamonds

Yeah, I've heard about that loophole. Don't know much about it though.


tinkeringidiot

Oh this is a fun one. Delaware doesn't tax "intangible assets" - things like trademarks, logos, etc. So a company in Delaware can license it's intangible assets and those license fees are tax-free. Companies around the country take advantage of this to avoid paying taxes in the states they're actually present in. Say Google operates its website out of California and revenues from that site are normally subject to California's income tax. So Google sets up Google Holdings LLC in Delaware, and "sells" its trademarks and logos to that company so that Google Holdings LLC owns them. Google (the website) now has to pay Google Holdings LLC a license fee to use those trademark items (like the Google logo on the page). And since Google Holdings LLC is registered in Delaware, those license fees aren't taxed as income. This reduces Google's California tax burden, because paying license fees is a cost of doing business, no different than paying employees or maintaining buildings. Business expenses aren't taxed directly. And if those license fees for trademarks happen to be _absolutely massive_, say a billion dollars per year, then that billion dollars goes off to Google Holdings LLC in Delaware without California getting a dime of it. Google looks like it's not making very much money because of gigantic license fees, but the California tax man is both happy (legally speaking) and unpaid. But, of course, Alphabet _owns_ both Google and Google Holdings LLC. Its subsidiary Google is generating enormous revenues, but looks like it's struggling to turn a profit under massive costs (like trademark license fees). But its other subsidiary Google Holdings LLC is turning massive profits tax-free, so all told Alphabet (and its shareholders) are very happy. (Yes this is a real example of what Alphabet is actually doing, and so is virtually every other company you've ever heard of in the United States)


IPreferDiamonds

Wow! Thanks for the detailed explanation.


tinkeringidiot

Happy to help. This is one of my very favorite tax dodges, makes me giggle every time I think about it.


WaldenFont

Oh, do Amazon next, please! Also, you should write a book with these. Call it “Good Night Stories for Adults.”


tinkeringidiot

Amazon does the same thing in Delaware. Really any company of any size is doing that. But the whole "Amazon paid no federal taxes" thing was much more basic. Federal taxes are based on income. For companies, this more or less means "profits" - revenues the company made in excess of costs (yes, I'm simplifying here, this is Reddit). If your company has more costs than revenue (i.e. it lost money) in a tax year, it'll pay no income tax to the federal government. Tax law in the US has a lot of elements to it meant to make starting businesses easier, and thus more appealing. More businesses means more jobs, more tax revenue, more things that politicians like to talk about. One of those elements is what's called "loss carry-forward". If you start a business, it's basically guaranteed that you're going to spend a few years losing money before you become profitable. Those losses can be hard to swallow even though they're not paying federal income tax, and so to keep businesses going the IRS allows them to "carry forward" those losses - if they lose money for the year, they can count those losses as "negative tax". The IRS won't pay that out to them, obviously, but they can keep it on their books and carry it into future years like a "store credit" with the federal government. Later on when they're profitable, they can take those past losses as a deduction on their tax burden. This is sort of the government's way of offsetting the pain of those initial years for businesses (and more importantly, the investors that keep them running during that painful time). Amazon (and every other tech company) made really good use of that mechanism. When it grew to where its earning exceeded its costs, instead of declaring a profit, it invested everything it earned into growing more - most notably by creating the Amazon Cloud and launching AWS. That took _years_ to set up, and Amazon spent those years investing every dime it had. Those investments are another business expense, so on paper it was _wildly_ unprofitable during those years, "losing" (but really investing) billions of dollars. And of course it carried all those "losses" forward. AWS was obviously an enormous success and Amazon almost immediately starting making crazy profits from it, and actually declaring them as profits. But it had billions in carried-forward losses to take as deductions and reduce its federal tax burden to zero during those first few amazingly profitable years.


q0vneob

Its mostly nonsense and not unique to DE but people love repeating it


G00dSh0tJans0n

What did Delaware? A New Jersey. What did Mississippi? A Minnesota.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

THIS IS THE GOAT OF ALL COMMENTS IN THIS POST


G00dSh0tJans0n

A dad joke that was hand crafted and handed down for generations. Now I pass it on to you.


lifesizehumanperson

[Hi...I'm in Delaware.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK_FiRm6ZK8)


ScholarDazzling3895

This was what I automatically thought of when I saw this question lol


TheDuckFarm

Dele-where?


Pramoxine

Dele-Unaware :c


yoshilurker

Because of how the highways are designed ppl don't even see Delaware or Wilmington when driving through it. You only know you're in the state because of the toll booths and rest stop (named for Joe Biden ofc).


undreamedgore

I have a grudge against Delaware. I got 49/50 licenses plates on my last vacation. Plus some Canadian and Mexian equivalents. You know what was missing? DELAWARE. Fucking Delaware.


Rdsknight11

Delaware is also one of those states that only uses numbers for their regular license plates, and some of the licenses plates with low digits sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.


Vexonte

I consistently forget Delaware is a state.


PumaGranite

My own silly personal conspiracy theory is that Delaware doesn’t exist. I’ve never met anyone from Delaware, I’ve never seen a Delaware license plate on a car, and I don’t know anyone else who knows or has met someone from Delaware. Therefore, Delaware doesn’t exist.


heatherfeather315

I’m from Delaware, but if you wanna keep your theory, don’t believe me, lmao. However, if you wanna know a person from Delaware (clearly not a flex, so like, your choice), hiiii.


PumaGranite

*side eye* if you say so…. CIA AGENT! GOTCHA! can’t fool me! I’m so very smart.


Jdm5544

I remember seeing a conspiracy theory post years ago about how Finland doesn't exist. My Finnish friend was not amused by it. LOL


ucbiker

The funny thing about the whole Delaware/Finland/Wisconsin doesn’t exist “conspiracy” is that it’s really meant to be an exercise to show how conspiracy theories are stupid. For example, I’ve lived in Delaware. But why would you believe me? I’m obviously in on the Delaware conspiracy and lying to you. Because Delaware doesn’t exist.


Ranger_Prick

It gets a boost because the President is from Delaware. But once he's no longer president, it will definitely go back to the void.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

I won't deny that Del is always aware, but most people forget about Delaware.


generally_apathetic

And Rhode Island. I’m pretty sure it’s the smaller than the county I live in, lol.


enzero1

From my limited UK knowledge isn't George Thourogood the standout musician from DE?


Freeze__

It’s a shell state


DachshundNursery

I forget that both that Delaware and Maryland exist and are separate places.


bigfudge_drshokkka

Plasma. We all know that solid, liquid, and gas exist but everyone forgets plasma.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

I love not being able to touch a state


bigfudge_drshokkka

For me it’s New Jersey. I love not touching that landfill with statehood.


alwaysintheway

Where do you think like 85% of your population comes from?


bigfudge_drshokkka

Fucking New Jersey


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

Sucks to hate the best state.


inbigtreble30

Imagine being Bose-Einstein condensate. Plasma doesn't know how good they've got it.


ZachMatthews

Haha, take my upvote, dork.


MeJerry

That big square one over in the middle-ish area.


Dobditact

Which one


1Bavariandude

Yes.


Consistent-Mouse-612

According to Garfield & Friends, Wyoming doesn't exist.


ParoxysmAttack

Nebraska. It's there during some of the election season, maybe tornado season, but thats about it. Hope y'all are alright.


audvisial

We keep on keepin' on.


n00bca1e99

We’re good. We know how to rebuild.


erodari

I like how this could apply to either tornado season or election season. Good luck out there!


n00bca1e99

You forgot flood season and blizzard season.


Naturallyoutoftime

We like being forgotten. It keeps our housing prices down, our unemployment low, traffic tolerable. Easy living.


malleoceruleo

Also the College Baseball World Series! Coming up later this week!


MagicWalrusO_o

If you listen to the national media, the only states that exist are NY, CA, TX, FL, and the swing states


devilbunny

I went to a wedding in a swing state near a Presidential election. I had no *idea* the torture that swing-state viewers underwent every four years. I've seen, like, three Presidential election ads *in my life* at home, and I'm over 40. If that. There? It was nonstop when we turned on the hotel TV. Send me back somewhere solidly red or blue at election time so I don't have to see that nonsense.


_pamelab

Try living near a city on the border of red and blue states. Every election season is just a bombardment of ads directed at one side AND the other.


panda3096

A blue city in the red state and a red zone of the blue state to boot.


PorcelainTorpedo

I grew up in St. Louis so I feel your pain. Now I live in Cincinnati, which is across the river from Kentucky. It’s a blue city in a red state vs redder state. Cannon blasts from all directions, and I want to throw my tv out the window. The campaign ads that I love the most, and how you know you’re in a blue area of a red state, are the ones that say things like “_____ loves lyin’ Biden so much that he voted with him 99% of the time”. Who are those ads targeted to? It makes me (a blue) even more likely to vote for the person being slandered in that instance, and the people you’re talking to are already not voting for that person.


_pamelab

I love the ads for the red team that list all the reasons I’m not voting for them like they’re good things.


Certain_Mobile1088

That’s funny to hear. I lived in a swing state for a long time and assumed that was normal. Fortunately, I quit watching anything but streaming in about 2013.


tattertottz

It’s rough out here.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

A British man finding out Delaware exists :O


StrangePondWoman

You're a Brit? Love it, last time I went to London we stopped at a comic store in a tourist-heavy area. It was super busy and the cashiers had maps of the US behind them, they were asking all the Americans which state they were from. I asked about it, they were playing 'America Bingo' to see how long it took one of them to get customers from all 50 states.


SanchosaurusRex

That’s pretty wholesome


JTP1228

Lol did you ever hear about Arkansas or Nebraska or Iowa?


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

Their brain be like 🤯🤯💥🤯🤯


4cats-inatrenchcoat

As an American I always forget that Arkansas is a state.


lemongrenade

Bill clinton our most saxophoney and our sillier impeached modern president is from Arkansas and he is memorable. I’m from Connecticut. The onions almanac refers to us as “New Yorks other population” and I resent that. We’re also Boston’s other population too good damn it.


Dcoutofstep

Most of us do


EvaisAchu

I forget Rhode Island exists constantly (sorry guys, you are just so tiny). Delaware might be a close second but Rhode Island is the one I forget when filling in a map.


Sovereign-Anderson

Rhode Island is a county masquerading as a state.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

Del is aware of the Roads on the Island.


devnullopinions

I’m not sure which one it is but out of all 49 states, there surely is one.


Western-Passage-1908

I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missourah.


TsundereLoliDragon

They added a 49th?


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

Yes they did it's called Glubosnarkel


7yearlurkernowposter

[Guessing Game](https://www.geoguessr.com/vgp/3003) Only one I had to think about was Connecticut so there's that.


sto_brohammed

I spent 20 years in the military and never once met anyone from Delaware. I'm convinced it's not real.


ScholarDazzling3895

Every state around it Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia even DC. I was in for only 9 years and never met anyone from Delaware. The only person I know from Delaware is Joe Biden and even than he somewhat rocks Pennsylvania.


Oceanbreeze871

If you’re from the area, Delaware is where you go to the beach.


SDEexorect

ive lived in Maryland my entire life and can say the same about not meeting someone from Delaware


buried_lede

Surprising number of people think New Mexico is not in this country.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

It'S mExIcO!!111!!


MihalysRevenge

Yep got that alot in the Army even when stationed in OKLAHOMA which borders NM lol


SovereignAxe

When I was stationed at Holloman there were a group of people that tried to petition Chick-fil-A to put one either on base or in Alamogordo. The response they got was that they weren't looking to expand into international markets at this time.


WarrenMulaney

New what? Never heard of it.


jmaca90

I prefer the Old Hampshire


SheenPSU

*sniff* *sniff* I smell a **redcoat**


C137-Morty

Someone finna fuck around and find out what "Live free or *Die*" means up in here


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

WERE GONNA FRICKING DIE!!!


aphasial

What ain't no state I ever heard of... They speak English in What?


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

POV bro got all of his memories wiped


Innuendo64_

Vermont and New Hampshire. I'm a geography nerd and could label a blank world map with >90% accuracy (it's the little island nations that would get me) but I still have to think about which one is which on a blank US map


Courwes

A trick. Vermonts shape is shaped like a V and New Hampshire is shaped like a backwards lowercase h


Innuendo64_

The funny thing is I know what Vermont looks like but in my head I imagine it's the state to the east that shares a border with Maine. Similarly, the map my brain draws in my head likes to put Arkansas east of the Mississippi River for some reason


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

If you need help you could get a new brain.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

As a geography nerd, I know the pain of mixing up Nauru and Vananatu. Sao Tome and Principe always get mixed with Cape Verde.


Sarollas

Kansas and Arkansas little brother of Olkansas


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

Arkansas cheated on Kansas with Hawaii, birthing Arkhawaii


Juiceton-

Kansas has cities. Arkansas has nature. Oklahoma has… wind? Oil? Marijuana? All of the above.


Ct-5736-Bladez

New Hampshire


SheenPSU

Seriously, who TF even lives there?


Derplord4000

Joe


SheenPSU

Hey, that’s my brother in law!


gojira_gorilla

Haha one of my closest friends is Joe from NH!


JoeBoco7

I actually don’t


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

your you and yourself.


SheenPSU

Two of them I claim as dependents on my taxes 🤫


BAC2Think

Rhode Island seems like it would belong high on that list


Smart_Engine_3331

I think Family Guy.


My-Cooch-Jiggles

Providence is well known for its mob activity in New England states 


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

Not good roads though.


SoneiOTree

Some of the worst roads across the country lol


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

That's why it's called Rhode Island and not Road Island.


Courwes

RI is strictly remembered for being the smallest. That’s it


ipodblocks360

I feel like it also gets remembered for being near the water.


RunFromTheIlluminati

I forget.


HelloEverybody94

So this prompted me to play the "Name all 50 states" game 3 times, and in my first and third attempt I forgot Nebraska, Missouri, and Wisconsin. It also took me a whole to remember Nevada.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

Wisconsin = CHEESE how dare you forget the state that makes the very substance our life depends on. (I don't think I need to say this, but this isn't serious.)


Brute_Squad_44

Being from Wyoming, I can tell you that a lot of the West has been forgotten. Denver has all four major sports franchises, so Colorado is remembered, but Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, and the Dakotas? Mostly an afterthought to most people.


Sovereign-Anderson

I think Utah having a basketball team and a major city keeps it from being lumped in with the rest of you guys; though it's still doesn't have the same level of clout as California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.


Positive-Avocado-881

Tbh the Mormons keep Utah relevant


supperoni

tbh, that’s okay with me lol


OneleggedPeter

See, even you forgot New Mexico.


Brute_Squad_44

I'll have to deal with the Truth or Consequences thereof, I guess. Look, buddy, I have to remember Wyoming, it's hard enough.


endthepainowplz

I even forget Idaho exists, even though we are right next to it. Potatoes come from there though, so I remember when I get groceries.


cometssaywhoosh

I consistently forget states like Delaware and Rhode Island exist.


TucsonTacos

I don’t forget states because I’m a Real American™️


DGlen

It's the one that's not listed here.


Throw-low-volume6505

New Mexico is the only state that has the reminder "USA" on it, because people think we are part of Mexico still.


1Marmalade

The one just north of South Dakota.


SheenPSU

All I can think of whenever I see these threads is “it’s our time to shine”


eyetracker

Indiana, aside from politics and one very large city, I can't say how it's different from Illinois. I can't say Delaware because it's the default answer so it's notable in itself.


Oceanbreeze871

New Mexico had to put “USA” on the license plates to alleviate confusion that it was indeed an American license plate. It reads “New Mexico, USA”


Courwes

Iowa. What is there to even remember about this state? Maybe New Hampshire too. Just boring to think about.


theCaitiff

Iowa, corn as far as you can see in either direction, until your car goes from 79mph to 80mph, then suddenly a cop turns on his lights. The fuck did he come from? I can see the horizon in every direction. How the fuck?


EnlightenedCorncob

Well, part of the internet was invented here. We've got pigs and corn, too. That's about it


theSPYDERDUDE

Don’t forget we have the biggest wind turbine in the entire U.S. for whatever reason. Not sure why


Iso-LowGear

My dad is from the Canary Islands (tropical paradise off the coast of Africa, part of Spain). When he was a teenager he participated in a study abroad program in the U.S. He listed he wanted to get sent to California, New York, or Florida. Lo and behold, his letter comes in the mail, and he was assigned to Iowa. More specifically, to a 2000 person town in Iowa that didn’t even have a Walmart.


SWWayin

I remember Vermont specifically because it was the one I'd always forget.


AnimatronicHeffalump

Sometimes I like to play a game where I try to list all 50 from memory. Was actually just playing it yesterday. I’ve gotten a lot better over the years. Before the one I’d always forget was Delaware. Yesterday I forgot Colorado and California (while actively planning a trip to Colorado), though, so there’s that.


No_Cricket808

Kansas, with N/S Dakotas coming a close second.


Responsible-Wave-416

I don’t know I feel like Kansas is pretty infamous for being the stereotype of middle America


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

When people think of Kansas, they think of the KC Cheifs.


GeorgePosada

The Wizard of Oz, the Jayhawks, and a city mostly known for its Missouri-based sports teams. North Dakota on the other hand has Fargo, a city mostly known for a movie that mainly takes place in Minnesota.


TruckADuck42

Yeah Kansas isn't forgotten just because of that, even though Kansas City is mostly in Missouri and the so are the Chiefs.


ElysianRepublic

I think of the band Kansas.


gentlespirit23456

We don't here much of New Hampshire around these parts.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

Most people can't name the capital of Concord.


lydonjr

The buffalo wild wings in Concord NH was better than average (so still a 3/10 restaurant)


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

A VERY HONEST REVIEW


Jasnah_Sedai

As a kid studying the states, I always forgot Arkansas. No offense, Arkansans.


s_ox

Arkansas, I forget it exists


tomdarch

If I could answer this question, I wouldn't have forgotten about that one state I can't think of which is roughly rectangular and somewhere in the middle of the US with a lot of agriculture and uh... not a lot else.


SnapClapplePop

Delawhere?


Smart_Engine_3331

A lot of people seem to not know that West Virginia is not western Virginia or that New Mexico is not part of Mexico.


Echterspieler

Wyoming. does anybody even live there?


1radgirl

Dozens of people. *Dozens*.


Sovereign-Anderson

Outside of Yellowstone and Cheyenne, that state is pretty much nothing but dirt, mountains, tough shrubbery, and sky. I hated having to drive through it the multiple times I had to. Way too empty for my tastes.


Inferno_Phoenix1

That one state I can't remember the name of


Zorro_Returns

I was thinking of going through the list of 50 states, then searching this page for occurrences of each state. That would be almost like sorta, scientific.


stangAce20

Rhode Island


willyj_3

I forget that West Virginia exists sometimes.


Mysteryman64

It's always one of the square ones out west or one of the little tiny ones in the NE.


Sir_Sir_ExcuseMe_Sir

If you watch Europeans trying to name all the states, I think Missouri is often forgotten.


qualitygoatshit

Nebraska. Iowa. For not having much going on and when people try to think of boring states, their mind usually goes to Kansas. I also think Missouri gets over looked a lot. It's got quite a bit going on. But it's so incredibly average I feel like it blends in and doesn't stick out in any way. No weird memes. Not any real cool nature.


MihalysRevenge

New Mexico most of the country just thinks were part of mexico or Arizona


Suzy_My_Angel444

Ummm… personally for me living in Florida, I forget about states such as Delaware, Arkansas *Little Rock is the capital if I’m remembering correctly* Vermont, Wyoming, New Mexico, West Virginia


4myolive

Maryland. I forget about it for decades at a time.


Anthrodiva

West Virginia. It's not "western" Virginia.


happyburger25

Maryland


WhoseChairIsThis-

Not gonna lie I be forgetting South Dakota all the time. I remember North Dakota but South Dakota evades me. My friend just moved to Idaho and I would’ve completely forgotten Idaho existed if I didn’t talk to him every day


Colorado_Car-Guy

I feel like the "o-tas" are up there plotting something. They have been really quiet lately.


boulevardofdef

A lot of Americans don't even know Rhode Island is a state. When I first moved here, I heard people talk about that and I didn't believe it. But then I started encountering it myself when I traveled and told people where I lived. They usually think it's part of New York, probably thinking of Long Island (coincidentally where I grew up).


LazyBoyD

Delaware is the answer.


firsmode

**Delaware** **Rhode Island** Rhode Island, despite its name, is neither entirely composed of roads nor is it a standalone island. It's the smallest state in the United States by area, located in the New England region. While it does have some islands within its territory and is connected to the mainland by roads, it's not a singular island itself. The name "Rhode Island" comes from the historical combination of "Rhode Island" and "Providence Plantations," referring to the mainland settlement around Providence combined with Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island. So, it's a bit of a misnomer!


Legitimate_Bat_6711

I remember playing Trivial Pursuit a long time ago and the question came up, “What state has the longest name?” The answer: Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Nobody ever got that one.


TheCrappyGamerIsBack

New Mexico or Utah just feel mainly forgotten. Salt Lake City is mostly forgotten. Albaquerque at least is decently memorable just because it has Q in the name.


IAmBecomeDeath_AMA

Albuquerque, sorry for being pedantic about spelling


WhatIsMyPasswordFam

Albus Kirky


Vexonte

Utah, at least, has Mormon stereotypes and the one line from drake and Josh. New Mexico a great flag, a distinguished name, aliens and breaking bad to name a few things.


talk_to_the_sea

Utah has a new and improved flag!


supperoni

as a utah resident that drake and josh line made me feel like a celebrity


OhThrowed

I'm OK with this.


Perdendosi

Really? Utah has 5 national parks, including one, Zion, that receives more than 5 million visitors a year. Salt Lake has the Utah Jazz (and a professional soccer team, and next year a professional hockey team), the headquarters for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), which is what Utah is most often associated with, and hosted the olympics 12 years ago.


CRO553R

It's uh....dammit...it's on the tip of my tongue...uh.. nevermind


hididathing

My sister thought Alaska was a country into her late 20s. That's all.


Mike_LeBuddhist

I would have hoped that the top answer would have been Arkansas, but alas. It's definitely Arkansas, though.


HarveyMushman72

Delaware. I've never met anyone IRL or online from there. Not sure it exists


TheFossil666

I forget that Montana exists


cucumberswithanxiety

Maryland. I swear people forget that there’s a whole state in between Philadelphia and DC.


Baymavision

Delaware and Maine. I've been asked, "What state is Maine in?"