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Some Unusual Facts about the Garden State

If you are heading to the Jersey Shore this summer, here are a few New Jersey facts that you may find interesting.

New Jersey’s name originates from the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. The Isle of Jersey was named after Julius Caesar.

New Jersey is the 3rd largest cranberry grower in the U.S., behind Wisconsin and Massachusetts. The State is the world leader in blueberry production.

Ten percent of students who attain a perfect score on the SATs are from the Garden State, even though it makes up less than 3% of the total U.S. population.

There are 34 wineries in the State of New Jersey.

The Clownfest in Seaside Heights is the world’s largest clown parade.

The least populous town on the Jersey Shore is Strathmere. In 2010, it had a total population of 158, which is three acres of land for each person.

Krueger Brewing in Newark was the launching site in 1933 for the first canned beer.

The first filly to win the Kentucky Derby was named “Regret.” She won the title in 1915 and was born at Brookdale Farm in Lincroft.

New Jersey has the most diners in the world.

The Passaic River was the site of the first submarine ride by inventor John P. Holland, a great-great uncle of the Italian Tribune’s Editor-in-Chief and the great-great-great uncle of its Graphics Designer.

Nicholas Varlett was granted the rights for the first brewery in America. It opened in 1663 at Castle Point in Hoboken.

The first licensed radio station in New Jersey was on July 2, 1921. Radio station WJY in Jersey City received a one-day license to broadcast the Jack Dempsey-Georges Carpentier fight at Boyle’s 30 Acres.

Two-thirds of the 12 million immigrants who passed through Ellis Island and gained admission into the U.S. took the ferry to different destinations in New Jersey. The remaining third took a ferry to lower Manhattan.

New Jersey had the first Drive-In Movie Theater. It opened on November 13, 1933, on Crescent Boulevard in Camden. Eager motorists parked their automobiles on the grounds of Park-In Theaters, later to be known as “drive-ins.” The charge was 25 cents! Almost a part of the past, less than 500 drive-ins remain in the U.S. today.