Riverside, Calif., April, 2000--The recently concluded Riverside Orange Blossom Festival featured non-stop music, food booths and teeming crowds that jammed the city's downtown streets.

The event also featured a singular contest, sponsored by La Sierra University, that stumped children and scholars alike during the April 15 to 16 event. For after all the usual glad-handing and brochure-giving, visitors to the La Sierra booth were asked this bedeviling question: "What Rhymes With Orange?"

The question, part of a good-natured contest, prompted more than a hundred responses. Most entries would make English teachers groan or spell checking programs crash. A few bordered on the potentially risquÚ. And a few head-scratchers approached sublimity - or at least our judges thought so.

Turns out all the fun was to vie for displayed merchandise from the La Sierra Bookstore (cotton t-shirts and diminutive bears clad in sporty university attire).

So, La Sierra asked the public: "What Rhymes With Orange?" Here's how the public responded - all 113 entries.

• Porridge, 19 entries. (Variant spellings: porage, poridge, pourage, pourge, porange, poranch)
• Storage, 10 entries: (storge, storeng, storeg)
• Courage, 9: (Cornge, cournge, corange)
• Sorange, a popular pick for kids, 5: (sourange, soarange)
• Nothing (rhymes with orange), 4
• Lorange, 3: (lorng)
• Burnge, 3: (borange)
• Forge, 3
• Floorage, 2: (florage)
• Forage, 2
• Sporange, 2
• Florange, 2: (floreng)
• Stonehenge, 2
• Morang, 2: (mrang)
• Fringe, 2
• To rage
• Seepage
• Rhetorical
• Gorgeous
• Flange
• Torrance (Calif.)
• Florence (Italy)
• Floren
• Lorlorn
• Stone Age
• Pornge
• College
• Stormin Oranges
• Norange
• Scournge
• Morange
• Discourage
• Galorange
• Dorenge
• Strange
• Morning
• A range
• Or Mange
• Rang
• Thorn
• Kornge
• Borng borng
• Orange basket
• Orange
• Apple
• Gerund
• Horrence
• Orange blossom
• Orangatan (their spelling)
• "Orange" you gonna try it?

With all of the above inspiration, the judges had a hard time. But the winning entries were chosen for particular wit, pluck or, yes, actual rhyming quality.

• Arrange, 2
• Syringe, 2
• Door-hinge, 2
• More fringe
• Etrange (French word)

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