117 Fun Facts About New Jersey

New Jersey takes its name from a place in which body of water?

The English Channel: the colony was named for Jersey, the Channel Island whose former governor, Sir George Carteret, received the land from the Duke of York in 1664.

What is New Jersey's state capital?

Trenton, on the Delaware River, has been New Jersey's capital since 1790 and briefly served as the national capital when Congress met there in late 1784.

New Jersey holds which population distinction among US states?

Most densely populated: the 2020 census counted about 9.29 million people in the fifth-smallest state by land area, roughly 1,260 residents per square mile.

New Jersey ratified the US Constitution on December 18, 1787, making it which state to do so?

Third: Delaware (December 7) and Pennsylvania (December 12) ratified first, and New Jersey followed unanimously on December 18, 1787; it was also first to ratify the Bill of Rights in November 1789.

Which Indigenous people were dominant in the region when Europeans arrived in the 17th century?

The Lenape (Delaware) people lived throughout the region; Dutch and Swedish colonists founded the first European settlements before the English took control in 1664.

Which troops did Washington's army surprise after crossing the Delaware on the night of December 25-26, 1776?

Hessians: German auxiliaries under Colonel Johann Rall garrisoned Trenton and were routed on December 26, 1776, with Rall mortally wounded and about 900 captured.

Because of its many Revolutionary War battles, New Jersey earned what title?

Crossroads of the Revolution: Washington's army fought at Trenton, Princeton and Monmouth (June 1778) in New Jersey and wintered twice at Morristown.

Edison perfected his incandescent light bulb in 1879 at his laboratory in which New Jersey community?

Menlo Park: Edison's laboratory there produced a practical carbon-filament bulb in October 1879, lit Christie Street with incandescent lamps in 1880, and he went on to 1,093 US patents.

Which of these inventions did NOT originate in New Jersey?

The telephone was patented by Alexander Graham Bell in Boston in 1876; New Jersey claims the phonograph (1877), the transistor (1947) and the first drive-in theater (1933).

The first drive-in movie theater opened on June 6, 1933, near which city on the Delaware?

Richard Hollingshead's patented drive-in stood on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken Township, just outside Camden.

The first organised baseball game under Knickerbocker rules was played in 1846 at the Elysian Fields in which city?

Hoboken: at the Elysian Fields on June 19, 1846, the Knickerbockers lost 23-1 to the New York Nine in the first recorded game under Knickerbocker rules.

Rutgers played the first intercollegiate football game in 1869 against which college?

Princeton: on November 6, 1869, Rutgers beat Princeton 6-4 in New Brunswick, with the Rutgers players wearing scarlet turbans and handkerchiefs to tell the sides apart.

Rutgers, chartered in 1766, was originally known by what name?

Queen's College, named for George III's queen Charlotte, was chartered in 1766 under the Dutch Reformed Church and renamed Rutgers in 1825 after benefactor Henry Rutgers.

Nassau Hall at the state's Ivy League college served as the US capital for four months in which year?

1783: the Continental Congress sat in Nassau Hall from June to November 1783 and learned there that the Treaty of Paris had been signed; the college was founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey.

Which Caldwell, New Jersey-born president was the first to serve non-consecutive terms?

Grover Cleveland, born in Caldwell in 1837, served as the 22nd president from 1885 to 1889 and the 24th from 1893 to 1897.

New Jersey is famous for having more of which eatery than anywhere else in the world?

Diners: New Jersey has roughly 500-600 of them, earning the nickname 'Diner Capital of the World', and builders such as Kullman Industries manufactured diners in the state.

New Jersey law requires every gas station to do what for customers?

Pump the gas for you: New Jersey has banned self-service fuelling under its Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act since 1949, and became the only state with a statewide ban after Oregon allowed self-service in 2023.

Under what brand name was the state's famous pork roll sold until food labelling rules changed in 1906?

Taylor's Prepared Ham: John Taylor of Trenton created it in 1856, and the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act forced a rename to Taylor's Pork Roll, seeding the north-south 'Taylor ham' versus 'pork roll' argument.

Which fruit did New Jersey designate as its official state fruit in 2004?

Blueberries: the highbush blueberry became the state fruit in 2004, honouring Whitesbog, where Elizabeth White and Frederick Coville first cultivated blueberries commercially in 1916.

New Jersey is the only one of the fifty never to have had what?

An official song: New Jersey is the only state without one; Red Mascara's 'I'm From New Jersey' passed the legislature in 1972 but Governor William Cahill never signed it.

The Jersey Shore's first boardwalk, built in 1870, was intended to solve what problem?

Sand being tracked into hotel lobbies: Atlantic City's 1870 boardwalk was laid to keep sand out of hotels and railroad cars, and its planks were taken up at the end of every season.

The first Miss America Pageant was held on the boardwalk in which year?

1921: the first Miss America pageant, won by 16-year-old Margaret Gorman of Washington DC, was staged on the Atlantic City boardwalk in September 1921 to stretch the summer season.

The US edition of Monopoly takes its street names from which shore resort?

Atlantic City: Boardwalk, Park Place and Baltic Avenue are its real streets, and 'Marvin Gardens' misspells nearby Marven Gardens, an error copied from the couple who taught Charles Darrow the game.

In which year did New Jersey voters legalise casino gambling in the state's boardwalk resort?

1976: after a 1974 statewide-casino referendum failed, voters approved Atlantic City-only casinos in November 1976, and Resorts International opened the first one in May 1978.

Which South Jersey town, with a National Historic Landmark Victorian downtown, is America's oldest seaside resort?

Cape May: its Victorian district became a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and Congress Hall, first built in 1816, made the town a favourite escape for Philadelphians.

The Hindenburg burst into flames in 1937 while landing at a naval air station in which New Jersey town?

Lakehurst: the airship burned at Naval Air Station Lakehurst on May 6, 1937, killing 36; radio reporter Herbert Morrison's 'Oh, the humanity!' was recorded on the landing field.

Orson Welles' 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast placed the Martian landing in which New Jersey hamlet?

Grover's Mill, in West Windsor Township, is where the Mercury Theatre's October 30, 1938 broadcast landed the first Martian cylinder; the panic it reportedly caused was later shown to be exaggerated.

In which year was the Jersey Devil, the cursed thirteenth Leeds child, said to be born?

1735: legend has Mother Leeds cursing her thirteenth child, born in the Pine Barrens that year, which became the winged Jersey Devil; the NHL's Devils took the name in 1982.

The New Jersey Devils began life in 1974 as which team?

The Kansas City Scouts joined the NHL in 1974, moved to Denver as the Colorado Rockies in 1976, and became the New Jersey Devils in 1982.

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford is home to which two NFL teams?

The New York Giants and New York Jets have shared MetLife Stadium since it opened in 2010 at a cost of about $1.6 billion; it hosted Super Bowl XLVIII in February 2014 and 2026 World Cup matches.

Which crooner was born in Hoboken in 1915 and got his break with the Hoboken Four?

Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken on December 12, 1915, and won the Major Bowes Amateur Hour in 1935 with a local group renamed the Hoboken Four.

Bruce Springsteen was born in Long Branch and grew up in which Monmouth County town?

Freehold: Springsteen grew up there after his 1949 birth in Long Branch, and 'My Hometown' on Born in the U.S.A. draws on the Freehold of his childhood.

Bon Jovi formed in 1983 in which New Jersey town?

Sayreville: Jon Bon Jovi grew up there and formed the band in 1983; the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Which best-selling musician was born in Newark and started singing at New Hope Baptist Church?

Whitney Houston, born in Newark in 1963, sang in the junior gospel choir at New Hope Baptist Church and was a backing vocalist for Chaka Khan while still in high school.

Who created The Sopranos, the HBO drama about a New Jersey mob boss with panic attacks?

David Chase, raised in New Jersey, created The Sopranos, which ran on HBO from 1999 to 2007; the Bada Bing! scenes were shot at Satin Dolls on Route 17 in Lodi.

Which 172-mile toll road, finished in 1957, runs from Bergen County down to Cape May?

The Garden State Parkway opened in stages between 1946 and 1957 and runs 172 miles from Montvale in Bergen County to Cape May, carrying Shore-bound traffic.

Which double-decked Hudson River bridge, opened in 1931, links Fort Lee with Upper Manhattan?

The George Washington Bridge opened in October 1931 and gained its lower deck in 1962; its fourteen lanes carried about 100 million vehicles a year by the 2010s, more than any other bridge.

Which crossing connecting Jersey City to Manhattan opened in 1927?

The Holland Tunnel opened under the Hudson on November 13, 1927, linking Jersey City and Lower Manhattan; the Lincoln Tunnel to Weehawken followed in 1937.

Which soup company has been headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, since 1869?

Campbell's: Joseph Campbell and Abraham Anderson began canning in Camden in 1869, and Campbell Soup Company kept its headquarters there, selling the first condensed soup in 1897.

The Delaware Water Gap cuts through which ridge on New Jersey's border with Pennsylvania?

Kittatinny Mountain: the Delaware River slices through the ridge between Mount Tammany in New Jersey and Mount Minsi in Pennsylvania, and the gap is the centrepiece of a national recreation area.

New Jersey's 1776 constitution extended the vote to which groups, subject to a wealth requirement?

Women and Black people: the 1776 constitution enfranchised 'all inhabitants' worth 50 pounds, so unmarried women and free Black men voted until an 1807 law limited the vote to white men.

Which private research campus, headquartered for decades in New Jersey, gave the world the transistor?

Bell Labs: John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley demonstrated the first transistor at its Murray Hill, New Jersey campus in December 1947.

Where in Jersey City did German saboteurs set off the 1916 blast that damaged the Statue of Liberty?

Black Tom: on July 30, 1916, German agents blew up a munitions depot on Black Tom island in Jersey City harbour, and shrapnel damaged the Statue of Liberty's torch, which was closed to visitors for good.

Which Passaic River city, known as Silk City, sits beside a Great Falls that is now a national historical park?

Canals brought Pennsylvania coal to Paterson, Newark and Jersey City as their industries grew.

Which theme park in Jackson Township is New Jersey's biggest amusement destination?

Six Flags Great Adventure opened in Jackson Township in 1974 and shares its grounds with a 350-acre safari park, making it one of the largest theme parks in the country.

Lucy the Elephant, a six-storey elephant-shaped building from 1881, stands in which shore town?

Margate City: James Lafferty built the 65-foot wooden elephant in 1881 to lure property buyers, and Lucy was named a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

Which shore town is famous for its 1950s and 60s 'doo-wop' motel architecture?

The neon-and-plastic-palm style survives in dozens of Wildwood motels.

Which New Jersey city, the state's largest, is home to Liberty International Airport?

The airport is run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and is one of the three main airports for the New York area.

Which future president was governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913 after leading Princeton?

Woodrow Wilson, Princeton's president from 1902 to 1910, was governor from 1911 to 1913, broke with the party bosses to pass progressive reforms, and beat Taft and Roosevelt in 1912.

Which two nearby cities do most New Jersey residents live within the orbit of?

New York City and Philadelphia: New Jersey's northern counties lie in the New York metropolitan area and its southern counties in Philadelphia's, at the hub of the Northeast megalopolis.

Edison built his larger 1887 laboratory complex in which New Jersey town?

West Orange: Edison opened his larger laboratory complex there in 1887 after leaving Menlo Park, and the site is now preserved as Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

Jersey City is the county seat of which New Jersey county?

Hudson County: Jersey City is its seat and largest city, with about 30 miles of waterfront on the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Hackensack River and Newark Bay.

What was the name of the Dutch patroonship, granted in 1630, that preceded Jersey City?

Pavonia: the patroonship granted to Amsterdam burgomaster Michiel Pauw in 1630 took its name from the Latin form of Pauw, meaning peacock, and Saint Peter's University's peacock mascot nods to it.

Which Revolutionary War clash took place at a British fort in what is now downtown Jersey City in August 1779?

Paulus Hook: Major Henry 'Light-Horse Harry' Lee, then 23, stormed the British fort on August 19, 1779, took 158 prisoners and withdrew; an obelisk at Washington and Grand Streets marks the site.

Which founding father helped create the 1804 'Associates of the Jersey Company' behind Jersey City?

Alexander Hamilton drew up the Associates of the Jersey Company's charter in 1804, predicting 'a great city shall rise on the western banks of the Hudson', months before his fatal July duel with Aaron Burr.

Which political boss ran Jersey City as mayor from 1917 to 1947?

Frank Hague ran Jersey City from 1917 to 1947 on a salary that never topped $8,500, yet kept a duplex in the city and a suite at the Plaza, earning the nickname 'King Hanky-Panky'.

In 1908 Jersey City became the first US place to permanently do what to its tap water?

The system, devised by John L. Leal, was installed at the Boonton Reservoir on the Rockaway River, which had replaced the Passaic as the city's source in 1904.

What is the giant timepiece on the Jersey City waterfront, billed as the world's largest of its kind, called?

The Colgate Clock, 50 feet across with a 2,200-pound minute hand, went up in 1924 at the Colgate soap works on the waterfront, replacing a smaller clock shipped to the company's Indiana plant.

Which 1,212-acre site on former railyards is New Jersey's largest urban green space?

Liberty State Park opened in 1976 on 1,212 acres of former Central Railroad of New Jersey and Lehigh Valley Railroad land, and Liberty Science Center opened within it in 1993.

Jersey City's Exchange Place financial district has earned what nickname?

Wall Street West: Goldman Sachs's 42-storey tower at 30 Hudson Street, New Jersey's tallest building when completed in 2004, anchors the banks clustered around Exchange Place.

What motto is on the seal and flag of the state's second-largest city, home to Journal Square?

Let Jersey Prosper: the motto on Jersey City's seal and flag recalls its 19th-century boundary fight with New York, which the 1834 compact between the two states finally settled.

Roughly what share of Jersey City residents were foreign-born in Census Bureau figures for 2020?

About 42 percent: Census Bureau figures for 2020 put roughly four in ten Jersey City residents as foreign-born, with large Indian, Filipino, Dominican and Egyptian communities.

The Landmark theatre in Journal Square is the only one of which group of 1920s movie palaces built outside NYC?

The Loew's Wonder Theatres: the Loew's Jersey, opened in 1929, is the only one of the five Wonder Theatres outside New York City, and Friends of the Loew's volunteers have restored it since 1993.

How many counties does New Jersey have?

21: thirteen of New Jersey's counties date from the colonial era, and the newest, Union County, was carved out of Essex County in 1857.

What were New Jersey's elected county officials uniquely called until a 2020 law renamed them?

Freeholders: the 'Board of Chosen Freeholders' title dated from colonial property-holding rules; Governor Murphy signed the bill renaming them county commissioners on August 21, 2020, effective January 2021.

Who became New Jersey's first lieutenant governor when the post was created in January 2010?

Kim Guadagno was sworn in alongside Chris Christie on January 19, 2010; before the 2005 constitutional amendment creating the post, a vacant governorship went to the state Senate president as acting governor.

What is the elevation of High Point, New Jersey's highest spot, in Sussex County?

1,803 feet: High Point, in the state's northwest corner in Sussex County, is topped by the 220-foot High Point Monument, dedicated in 1930 to New Jersey's war dead.

Which historic site in New York Harbor did the Supreme Court rule in 1998 lies mostly in New Jersey?

Ellis Island is mostly landfill, and the justices gave New Jersey the roughly 23 acres added around the original island. New York kept under five acres, including the natural core.

Which packaging material was invented in Hawthorne, New Jersey, in 1957 as a failed wallpaper?

Bubble wrap began as two shower curtains sealed together with air trapped between them. It flopped as wallpaper and as greenhouse insulation before IBM used it to protect computers in shipment.

Which emperor's older brother, once King of Spain, settled on an estate in Bordentown, New Jersey?

Napoleon I had made Joseph Bonaparte king of Naples and then of Spain. After the empire fell, Joseph emigrated and entertained leading American politicians at his Point Breeze estate.

Bones dug up in Haddonfield, New Jersey, in 1858 became the first mounted skeleton of which animal?

A dinosaur, Hadrosaurus, went on display in 1868, the first ever mounted. Fourth-graders from Haddon Township later lobbied successfully to make it the official state dinosaur.

Which 1980 slasher film used a Boy Scout camp in Warren County, New Jersey, as Camp Crystal Lake?

Friday the 13th was shot from September 1979 at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in Hardwick, a working Scout camp. The camp has since hosted Crystal Lake tours of the filming spots for fans.

Which Mars candy has been made at a factory in Hackettstown, New Jersey, since 1958?

M&M's were sold only to the military during World War II, because the hard shell let soldiers carry chocolate in hot climates without it melting. The company outgrew two Newark factories before moving to Hackettstown.

Which moonwalking astronaut grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, where a school is named after him?

Buzz Aldrin was born in neighbouring Glen Ridge to a mother whose maiden name was Moon. He played centre on Montclair High School's unbeaten 1946 state championship football team.

Which DuPont invention did Roy Plunkett discover by accident at Deepwater, New Jersey, in 1938?

Teflon turned up as a whitish powder inside a gas cylinder that seemed to have emptied itself. Plunkett's team had been trying to make a new refrigerant, not a slippery plastic.

Which animals killed four people along the Jersey Shore and in Matawan Creek in July 1916?

Sharks caused a national panic that summer, and three of the five attacks happened in a creek well inland. Scientists still debate whether a great white or a bull shark was to blame.

Which future president bought the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League in 1983?

Donald Trump paid about $6 million for the team, then pushed the spring league to move to autumn and take on the NFL. It never played that 1986 season and folded.

Which folk heroine is said to have taken over a cannon at the 1778 Battle of Monmouth?

Molly Pitcher is usually identified as Mary Ludwig Hays, an artilleryman's wife who carried water to the gunners. When her husband fell, she is said to have taken his place loading the cannon.

Which New Jersey town, a Continental Army winter camp, holds the first US national historical park?

Morristown sheltered the army through the hard winter of 1779-80, with Washington's headquarters at the Ford Mansion. Congress created the park in March 1933.

In which New Jersey township did Vice President Aaron Burr fight his fatal duel in July 1804?

Weehawken was a popular dueling ground because New Jersey prosecuted duellists less aggressively than New York. Both men rowed over from Manhattan that morning in separate boats.

Which aviator's infant son was kidnapped from the family home near Hopewell, New Jersey, in 1932?

Charles Lindbergh's loss led Congress to make carrying a kidnap victim across state lines a federal crime. The trial in Flemington was soon dubbed the Trial of the Century.

Which New Jersey shore city is named in the title of Bruce Springsteen's 1973 debut album?

Asbury Park takes its own name from Francis Asbury, America's first Methodist bishop. Columbia's president rejected the first version of the record, feeling it lacked a hit single.

Which jazz bandleader, born in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1904, has a theatre there named after him?

Count Basie earned free admission to Red Bank's Palace Theater as a boy by doing chores there. He switched from drums to piano at 15, discouraged by a gifted local drummer.

Which beach borough hosted the cast's summer house in MTV's reality series Jersey Shore?

Seaside Heights housed the cast for four of the six seasons, with detours to Miami Beach and Florence. The housemates also worked shifts at a store on the boardwalk.

Which director shot Clerks at the convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey, where he worked by day?

Kevin Smith raised the $27,575 budget by selling his comic book collection and maxing out credit cards. He filmed at night after his shifts, often sleeping barely an hour a day.

Which Yankees catcher, long a Montclair resident, has a museum at Montclair State University?

Yogi Berra opened the museum in 1998 beside a stadium that also carries his name. Its exhibits include the mitt he used to catch the only perfect game in World Series history.

Which NFL coach who once taught in Englewood has a New Jersey Turnpike service area named after him?

Vince Lombardi taught Latin and chemistry at St. Cecilia High School while coaching its football team to national prominence. His rest stop is the northernmost on the road.

Which author of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey?

Judy Blume, a dentist's daughter, became one of the most frequently banned authors in American schools and libraries. Five of her books made a list of the 1990s' 100 most banned titles.

Which Bayonne-born fantasy author wrote the novels that became HBO's Game of Thrones?

George R. R. Martin grew up in a federal housing project near the Bayonne docks, the son of a longshoreman. He took the second R., for Richard, as a confirmation name at 13.

Which NBA team called New Jersey home for 35 seasons before leaving for a new arena in 2012?

The Nets started out in Teaneck in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans, then spent nine years on Long Island before coming back. Their 2012 move made them Brooklyn's first major team since baseball's Dodgers.

Which sprinter and long jumper with nine Olympic gold medals grew up in Willingboro, New Jersey?

Carl Lewis began long jumping at 13 and emerged as a prospect at Willingboro High School. He added eight world championship golds to his Olympic haul.

Which baseball star, the unanimous 2014 American League MVP, is known as the Millville Meteor?

Mike Trout grew up in Millville, New Jersey, and adopted the nickname after a vandal added it to his Wikipedia page and it caught on. His high school awards his old number to its team captain.

Which sibling pop act, raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, found fame on the Disney Channel in the 2000s?

The Jonas Brothers wrote their first record after the family moved to nearby Little Falls in 2005. The three brothers then won a young audience with guest spots on Hannah Montana.

Which drink did Vineland dentist Thomas Welch first bottle in 1869 for his Methodist church?

Grape juice kept without fermenting because Welch pasteurised it, giving teetotal congregations a substitute for communion wine. He marketed it as Dr. Welch's Unfermented Wine.

Which type of warship is USS New Jersey, a museum ship that fought in World War II and Vietnam?

A battleship of the Iowa class, she earned 19 battle and campaign stars and was the only American battleship to give gunfire support in Vietnam. She opened as a museum in 2001.

Which thinly settled region, over a fifth of New Jersey's land, became a National Reserve in 1978?

The Pine Barrens are named for acidic, nutrient-poor soil that defeated farmers and so kept the forest intact. Beneath it lies an aquifer holding some 17 trillion gallons of very pure water.

Which line of cliffs runs north from Jersey City for about 20 miles, facing Manhattan?

The Palisades were being dynamited for railroad ballast in the 1890s, which spurred local campaigns to save them. They climb from about 300 feet to 540 feet near their northern end.

Which stretch of the New Jersey coast holds the oldest working lighthouse in the United States, built in 1764?

Sandy Hook's tower was first called the New York Lighthouse, because a New York lottery and a tax on ships entering the port paid for it. It survived a patriot attempt to destroy it during the Revolutionary War.

Which thrill-ride venue in Vernon, New Jersey, closed in 1996 after years of injuries and lawsuits?

Action Park was nicknamed Traction Park and Class Action Park by locals and healthcare workers. By 1995 its owners were running the water slides and go-karts with no liability insurance.

Which animal, whose head tops the New Jersey state seal, became the official state animal in 1977?

The horse won the title after lobbying by a fifth-grade class from Harrington Park and an eighth-grader. On the seal its head sits above a knight's helmet, standing for speed and strength.

What do New Jersey drivers call the right-hand ramp used for turning left at many busy junctions?

A jughandle keeps turning cars out of the fast lane, an idea introduced in the 1940s. New Jersey had 160 of them by 1960, and the manoeuvre is also known as a Jersey left.

Which team nickname did Rutgers students choose in 1955 to replace the much-mocked Chanticleers?

Scarlet Knights won a campus-wide election because the Chanticleer, a fighting rooster from a medieval fable, kept inviting jokes about being chicken. Even the football coach backed the change.

Which Englewood, New Jersey, group scored rap's first Top 40 hit with Rapper's Delight?

The Sugarhill Gang peaked at number 36 in January 1980 and never had another American Top 40 hit. Later singles such as Apache still charted in Europe.

Which wounded president was taken by train to Elberon, New Jersey, where he died in September 1881?

James A. Garfield had longed to escape the capital's heat, and volunteers built a spur line in a single night to bring his cushioned railcar to an oceanfront mansion. He died there two weeks later.

Which tournament's 2026 final was played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey?

The FIFA World Cup final there was the first to include a halftime show, which stretched the break past 27 minutes. The venue was renamed New York New Jersey Stadium for the tournament.

Which Major League Soccer club has played its home matches in Harrison, New Jersey, since 2010?

New York Red Bulls began in 1996 as the MetroStars, a name borrowed from Metromedia, the media company founded by co-owner John Kluge. Nike's suggestion, MetroFlash, was rejected.

Which president met Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin at a 1967 summit in Glassboro, New Jersey?

Lyndon B. Johnson wanted to meet in the capital to avoid anti-war protesters, while his guest preferred New York. A college president's house roughly halfway between them was the compromise.

What nickname was given to the world's first film studio, built by Thomas Edison in New Jersey?

The Black Maria reminded Edison's staff of the cramped, stuffy police vans of the day. The tar-papered studio sat on a turntable so that its roof window could follow the sun.

Which discovery did two radio astronomers make in 1965 using a horn antenna in Holmdel, New Jersey?

Cosmic microwave background radiation, which fills the universe, was picked up by an antenna built in 1959 to bounce signals off balloon satellites. The find won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Which antibiotic, the first to cure tuberculosis, was isolated in a Rutgers University lab in 1943?

Streptomycin was isolated by Albert Schatz, a PhD student in Selman Waksman's laboratory. Waksman received the 1952 Nobel Prize, and Schatz sued to be recognised as co-discoverer.

Which colour is the field of New Jersey's state flag, a nod to Revolutionary War uniform facings?

Buff facings had been reserved for Continental generals and their aides until a 1779 order granted them to New Jersey's regiments. The flag itself was not adopted until 1896.

Which area code, the first on AT&T's original 1947 list, once covered the whole of New Jersey?

201 was number one of the 86 original codes. In 1951 it also carried the first direct-dialled long-distance call, placed from Englewood to Alameda, California.

Which suffragist from Mount Laurel, New Jersey, co-wrote the original Equal Rights Amendment?

Alice Paul was jailed in 1917 during the suffrage campaign and began a hunger strike over prison conditions. She then led the National Woman's Party for half a century.

Which New Jersey river is named in the title of Rutgers University's alma mater, written in 1873?

The Raritan inspired student Howard Newton Fuller in 1873, when the glee club asked him for an official school song on the night of a concert in Metuchen.

Which lake on the border of Sussex and Morris counties is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey?

Hopatcong covers about four square miles and lies more than 900 feet above sea level, which made it the main water supply for the Morris Canal.

Which Long Branch-born vice president died in office in 1899 while serving under William McKinley?

Garret Hobart steered bills through the Senate so effectively that he was known as the assistant President. His place on the 1900 ticket went to Theodore Roosevelt.

Which modernist poet spent his working life as a doctor in his hometown of Rutherford, New Jersey?

William Carlos Williams practised pediatrics and general medicine while writing, and served as a local hospital's chief of pediatrics from 1924 until his death in 1963.