1. New Jersey has more horses per square mile than any other state. The United States Equestrian Team is headquartered in Gladstone, New Jersey.
http://www.uset.com/index.php
http://www.state.nj.us/nj/about/things.html

2. The streets in the United States version of the Parker Bros. board game Monopoly come from Atlantic City, New Jersey. Charles Darrow, accredited with being one of the games final developers, patented and later sold it the Parker Bros.
The Landlord's Game to Monopoly: A Historical Review
http://tt.tf/gamehist/mon-index.html

3. During the Second World War, a German saboteur caused a series of explosions which destroyed the military depot on Black Tom Island in 1916. The island, which lies off the coast of Jersey City, had be used to store munitions for the Allies.
Carmela Karnoutsos, Black Tom Explosion. 2001. New Jersey City University.
http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/B_Pages/Black_Tom_Explosion.htm

4. New jersey has been nicknamed the "Garden State" ever since 1954 when the New Jersey legislature overrode governor Robert Meyner and had the phrase added to the state's license plates. Abraham Browning of Camden is accredited with first using the phrase to describe New Jersey.
http://www.state.nj.us/nj/about/facts/nickname/

5. Despite being the most densely populated state in the union, New Jersey enjoys a variety of environments, from jagged mountains to sandy shorelines. Additionally, not all of New Jersey's 21 counties are as populated as they may appear. The majority of the local population lives or works in the area known as the Route 1 Corridor and the areas outside Camden.
http://www.aboutnewjersey.com/AboutNewJersey/Facts/populationPeople.php

6. The New Jersey state flower is the Purple Violet, the state tree is the Red Oak, the state insect is the honeybee, the state animal is the horse, the state fruit is the blueberry, and the state bird is the Eastern Goldfinch.
http://www.state.nj.us/nj/about/facts/symbols/

7. Taylor Ham, or pork roll as it is more commonly known was invented in 1856 by John Taylor, and has been enjoyed by New Jersey natives ever since. The dish pork roll, egg, and cheese is widely known as the Jersey breakfast and is delicious. The Taylor Provisions Company is one of the sole producers of pork roll and is located in Trenton, New Jersey. Unfortunately for the Rest of the Union, they rarely ship outside New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, making Taylor Ham practically exclusive to the Garden State. Further, a pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich is typically enjoyed with ketchup in the southern half of the state and mustard in the northern half.
Beverly Savage. Jerseyana. 2004.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E5D71030F935A15751C1A9629C8B63

8. Musical artist Redman, Reginald "Reggie" Noble, was born in Newark, New Jersey. Newark is known as the Brick City and Redman often pays homage to his home city and fellow Newark locals in his music.
http://www.funkdoc.com/
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kpfpxqt5ldhe~T1

9. The Delaware River Bridge in Trenton has become known as the Trenton Makes Bridge because of the sign emblazoned across it's steel structure that reads "Trenton Makes The World Takes." It was adopted to signify Trenton's leading position in production of goods. The sign was first constructed out of shimmering metal, then out of 24,000 iridescent lamps, and then in neon. The bridge still stands today.
http://www.stanglpottery.org/trentonbridge.htm

10. The first boardwalk ever built was the Atlantic City boardwalk, built in 1870. It was first constructed to keep sand out of beachfront hotel lobbies. It was originally six miles long and was pulled up during the winter. A more permanent structure was built in 1880.
http://www.cityofatlanticcity.org/con_abo_history.asp

11. Roselle, New Jersey was the first town to be lit by electricity. It employed Thomas Edison's overhead electric wire service as part of an experiment to prove that an entire community could be lit by electricity.
http://www.state.nj.us/nj/about/famous/famous_firsts.html

12. New Jersey was first explored by Europeans around 1524. Giovanni de Verrazano was the first European explorer to reach New Jersey and anchored at Sandy Hook. It was later explored more thoroughly by Henry Hudson who gave the future state it's name, New Netherland, in honor of his Dutch employers. It was later renamed New Jersey when the British took control of the territory in 1664.
http://www.state.nj.us/nj/about/history/short_history.html

13. During the Revolutionary War, more battles were fought on New Jersey soil than any other colony. Many historians consider the Battle of Trenton to be the turning point of the war. George Washington is said to have stayed in hundreds of different still standing New Jersey homes during the war, and countless homeowners have made such claims over the years.
http://www.state.nj.us/nj/about/history/short_history.html

14. The New Jersey Pine Barrens are home to the legend of the infamous Jersey Devil. According to legend, Mother Leeds, after giving birth to her twelfth child, stated that if she had another it was to be the devil. Sure enough, Mother Leeds again became pregnant and when the child was born it was disfigured and 'demon-like'. Shortly after it was born it flew out the chimney of the Leeds' home and was then free to rome the Pine Barrens. The Devil is reported to have a horse like head and torso, bat like wings and hooved feet.
The New Jersey Historical Society
http://www.jerseyhistory.org/legend_jerseydevil.html
http://www.state.nj.us/nj/about/famous/nj_devil.html

15. The Quick Stop and RST Video featured in Kevin Smith's Clerks are real places and can be visited today. They are located at 58 Leonard Avenue in Leonardo, New Jersey.
http://viewaskew.com/clerks/info.html

16. 790,000 acres of New Jersey are farmland. New Jersey also ranks in the top ten national producers of blueberries, cranberries, spinach, bell peppers, peaches, and head lettuce. The Jersey Fresh campaign requires a higher quality of fruits and vegetables than is typical nation-wide.
http://www.state.nj.us/nj/about/garden/
http://www.state.nj.us/jerseyfresh/

17. While serving as Vice President, Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel just outside Weehawken, New Jersey in 1804.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/peopleevents/pande01.html
http://www.aaronburrassociation.org/duel%20description.htm

18. The German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed above Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 3rd 1937. 62 of the 97 people aboard survived.
http://www.unmuseum.org/hindenburg.htm
http://www.vidicom-tv.com/tohiburg.htm

19. In 1934, the S.S. Morro Castle caught fire and ran aground in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Sailing out of New York City and bound for Havana, Cuba the fire killed 137 passengers and crew members.
http://www.garemaritime.com/features/morro-castle-watremez/index.php

20. The setting for the Classic B movie "The Toxic Avenger" is set in the Fictional Town of Tromaville, NJ.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090190/

21. It is illegal to wear a bullet proof vest in New Jersey while committing a murder.
http://www.dumblaws.com/laws/united-states/new-jersey

22. The NJ state bug is the honeybee!


23. There are nearly 2700 computer software companies based in NJ.
http://www.locationnj.com/Demog_NJ_FastFact.asp

24. The state leads all of the nation in electronics research and development
http://www.locationnj.com/Demog_NJ_FastFact.asp

25. One Third of all the pharmaceutical drugs approved by the FDA are manufactured in NJ.
http://www.locationnj.com/Demog_NJ_FastFact.asp