“Dear Editor,
I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Delaware. Papa says ‘If you see it in the Sun it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth, is there a Delaware?
Virginia O’Hanlon
115 W. 95th St.”
This is the original, unaltered letter 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon sent to the editor of The Sun newspaper in 1897. Fearing a nationwide loss of faith in the U.S. government, the editor replaced all instances of “Delaware” with “Santa Claus” before printing the letter along with his now famous reply. From the publishers of The Sun, Virginia O’Hanlon received an undisclosed sum in hush money, and she lived comfortably until her death in 1971. According to her family, her last words were, “Delaware was an inside job.”
WAKE UP, SHEEPLE! The U.S. federal government has been pretending Delaware is a state for the past 229 years.
