How's your New Jersey History?

So you know a little about Ocean City's history...  But, how much do you know about New Jersey's history? Jot down your answers on a piece of paper to these 20 questions before you peek at the answers. The following quiz and article about New Jersey appeared in the March 30, 2003, edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer and is provided here with their permission. 

Do You Know The Garden State?
By Terry Bitman INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

True or False
1. The only "New" state that doesn't require "New" to identify it is Jersey.

2. The Delaware River was discovered by Henry Hudson.

3. New Jersey is the nation’s most densely populated state, with more than 1,100 people per square mile.

4. New Jersey has more shopping malls per capita than any other state.

5. Hitler’s toilet was found in a garage in Burlington County.

6. The state bird is the mosquito and the state flower is concrete.                   

7. The first drive-in movie theater opened in 1933 on the Camden-Pennsauken border.

8. The first brewery in America opened in Jersey City in the mid-1600s.

9. The first college baseball game was played in New Jersey in 1869, with Rutgers defeating visiting Princeton, 6-4.

10. The first dinosaur skeleton discovered in North America was found in Haddonfield in 1858.



Multiple Choice
11. The only president born in New Jersey was
a. Woodrow Wilson
b. James Buchanan
c. Calvin Coolidge
d. Grover Cleveland

12. In 1793, the first balloon flight in America took Jean-Pierre Blanchard from Philadelphia to
a. an Atlantic City casino
b. a Deptford farm field
c. the Cherry Hill Mall
d. Mount Misery

13. The two figures on the state seal symbolize
a. elected officials with their hands out
b. native sons Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
c. liberty and prosperity
d. a farmer and a developer

14. In a radio play that thousands of terrified listeners thought was real, Orson Welles reported that New Jersey had been invaded by
a. the Mafia
b. Martians
c. Nazis
d. New Yorkers

15. Quite by accident, Roy Plunkett discovered this strange substance at the DuPont plant in Salem County:
a. tomato soup
b. saltwater taffy
c. Ralphie Cifaretto
d. Teflon

Who Said It About N.J.?
16. "When I die, I want to be buried in Jersey City so I can continue in politics."

17. "What exit you from?"

18. "I'm just a guy from New Jersey who got a few breaks along the way."

19. "I believe there's an intelligence to the universe, with the exception of certain parts of New Jersey."

20. "Truth and happiness? Come on, I’m a fat crook from New Jersey. What truth and happiness?"

Click here for the answers.