New Jersey

Iconic Firsts & Fun Facts

Home to the world’s first research lab, the birthplace of college football, and the 'Diner Capital of the World.' From iconic inventions like the light bulb to the unique culture of the Jersey Shore, discover the essential firsts and fun facts that define the Garden State."

Geography & Infrastructure

  • New Jersey is a peninsula.

  • Highlands, New Jersey has the highest elevation along the entire eastern seaboard, from Maine to Florida.

  • New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as metropolitan areas.

  • New Jersey has the densest system of highways and railroads in the US.

  • North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with seven major shopping malls in a 25-square-mile radius.

  • New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the US, located in Elizabeth. Nearly 80 percent of what our nation imports comes through Elizabeth Seaport first.

  • New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries.

  • New Jersey has the tallest water tower in the world (Union, NJ!).

  • The Pulaski Skyway, from Jersey City to Newark, was the first skyway highway.

  • NJ built the first tunnel under a river, the Hudson (Holland Tunnel).

  • The Great Falls in Paterson, on the Passaic River, is the second-highest waterfall on the East Coast of the US.

Innovation & "World Firsts"

  • The Passaic River was the site of the first submarine ride by inventor John P. Holland.

  • The light bulb, phonograph (record player), and motion picture projector were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park, NJ, laboratory.

  • We also boast the first town ever lit by incandescent bulbs.

  • New Jersey rocks! The famous Les Paul invented the first solid-body electric guitar in Mahwah, in 1940.

  • The first seaplane was built in Keyport, NJ.

  • The first airmail (to Chicago) was started in Keyport, NJ.

  • The first phonograph records were made in Camden, NJ.

  • New Jersey had the first medical center, in Jersey City.

  • The first drive-in movie theater was opened in Camden, NJ (but they're all gone now!).

  • The first radio station and broadcast were in Paterson, NJ.

  • The first FM radio broadcast was made from Alpine, NJ, by Maj. Edwin Armstrong.

  • New Jersey is a leading technology and industrial state and is the largest chemical-producing state in the nation when you include pharmaceuticals.

Nature & Agriculture

  • New Jersey has the most stringent testing along our coastline for water quality control than any other seaboard state in the entire country.

  • New Jersey is the world leader in blueberry and cranberry production (and here you thought Massachusetts?).

  • Jersey tomatoes are known the world over as being the best you can buy.

  • New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky.

  • The first Indian reservation was in New Jersey, in the Watchung Mountains.

Sports

  • The first baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ, which is also the birthplace of Frank Sinatra.

  • The first intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick in 1869 (Rutgers College played Princeton).

  • The game Monopoly, played all over the world, named the streets on its playing board after the actual streets in Atlantic City, NJ.

  • New Jersey is home to both of "NEW YORK'S" pro football teams!

  • New Jersey has 50+ resort cities & towns; some of the nation's most famous: Asbury Park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Long Branch, Cape May.

Cultural Milestones

  • Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world, not to mention saltwater taffy.

  • New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the "Diner Capital of the World."

  • New Jersey is home to the original Mystery Pork Parts Club (no, not Spam): Taylor Ham or Pork Roll.

  • Home to the less mysterious but the best Italian hot dogs and Italian sausage w/peppers and onions.

  • New Jersey is home to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

  • Here’s to New Jersey - the toast of the country! In 1642, the first brewery in America opened in Hoboken.

  • George Washington slept here. Several important Revolutionary War battles were fought on New Jersey soil, led by General George Washington.

  • New Jersey was home to the Miss America Pageant held in Atlantic City.

  • New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq. mi.) than Havana, Cuba.

Famous NJ Natives

  • Screen, Stage & Television: Jack Nicholson, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifah, Susan Sarandon, Connie Francis, Budd Abbott, Lou Costello, Flip Wilson, Jerry Lewis, Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, Caesar Romero, Nick Adams, Nathan Lane, Sandra Dee, Danny DeVito, Richard Conti, Joe Pesci, Joe Piscopo, Robert Blake, John Forsythe, Meryl Streep, Loretta Swit, Norman Lloyd, Kevin Spacey, John Travolta, Phyllis Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Elisabeth Shue, Ray Liotta, Robert Wuhl, Kelly Ripa, Ernie Kovacs, and "Uncle Floyd" Vivino.

  • Music & Composition: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughan, Marilynn McCoo, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money, Lauryn Hill, Ice-T, Paul Simon, Jerry Herman, Gordon MacRae, and Francis Albert Sinatra.

  • Literature & Journalism: Judy Blume, Joan Robertson, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, Walt Whitman, Joyce Kilmer, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Carlos Williams.

  • History, Statesmen & Military: Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Zebulon Pike, Admiral Wm. Halsey, Jr., and Paul Robeson.

  • Sports & Business Icons: Shaq, Dave Thomas (Wendy's), Sal Martorano, Ken Kross, Linda McElroy, Eileen Donnelly, Bob Reyers, and Joseph Macchia.

You Know You’re From Jersey When...

You don't think of fruit when people mention "The Oranges."

You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags.

A good, quick breakfast is a hard roll with butter.

You've eaten at a diner at 3 A.M.

You know that a "White Castle" is the name of BOTH a fast-food chain AND a fast-food sandwich.

You consider putting mayo on a corned beef sandwich a sacrilege.

You've had a boardwalk cheese steak and vinegar fries.

You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery.

You know that the state isn't all farmland.

You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey—there's the shore—and you don't go "to the shore," you go "down the shore." And when you are there, you're not "at the shore"; you are "down the shore."

You don't consider Newark or Camden to actually be part of the state.

You know that this is the only "New" state that doesn't require "New" to identify it (try... Mexico, York, Hampshire—doesn't work, does it?).

You know what a "jug handle" is.

You know how to properly negotiate a circle.

You knew that the last sentence had to do with driving.

You refer to all highways and interstates by their numbers.

You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the mall or the airport.

You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls.

You don't think "What exit?" is very funny.

At least three people in your family still love Bruce Springsteen, and you know the town Jon Bon Jovi is from.

You know the location of every clip shown in the Sopranos opening credits.

The Jets-Giants game has started fights at your school or local bar.

You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton—that's for out-of-staters.

You know that WaWa is a convenience store.

You remember the stores Korvette's, Two Guys, Rickel's, Channel, Bamberger's, and Orbach's.

You also remember Palisades Amusement Park.

You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February.

And finally... you’ve NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, EVER pumped your own gas.

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