New Jersey Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for New Jersey trivia? Try our list New Jersey little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Doc Cramer, born in Beach Haven (pop. 1,278) in 1905, was a major league outfielder for 20 years, beginning with the Philadelphia Athletics. He made five All-Star teams and led the American League with 200 hits for the Boston Red Sox in 1940.

first appeared: 3/7/2010

One of the greatest maritime disasters in America’s peacetime history occurred in 1934, when the ocean liner Morro Castle caught fire a few miles from shore. More than 130 passengers and crew perished, and the burned hulk drifted ashore at Asbury Park (pop. 16,930). A memorial to the ship was unveiled in Asbury Park last year, on the 75th anniversary of the fire.

first appeared: 2/21/2010

In front of the Essex County Courthouse in Newark is sculptor Gutzon Borglum's celebrated statue of President Abraham Lincoln, seated informally on a bench. The statue was dedicated in 1911 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

first appeared: 2/7/2010

In the 1978 film Superman, Hackensack (pop. 42,677) was one of the locations targeted for nuclear destruction. The town managed to survive, thanks to Superman, who diverted the warhead into space.

first appeared: 1/24/2010

At 171 feet tall, the 1857 Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City (pop. 40,517) is the tallest structure of its kind in the state.

first appeared: 1/10/2010

Versatile pool player Allen Hopkins, born in Elizabeth, began playing at the age of 6 on a 3-foot table given to him by his father. Hopkins eventually played championship-level pool for three decades beginning in the 1970s, earning titles in several events, including the 1977 World Open 14.1 Straight Pool championship, the 1977 and 1981 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, and the 1991 Legends of One-Pocket event.

first appeared: 12/27/2009

The first white man to construct a permanent building in what would become Atlantic City (pop. 40,517) was Jeremiah Leeds, who established his farm and cabin in the early 1780s and named it Leeds Plantation.

first appeared: 12/13/2009

A resident of Haddonfield, (pop. 11,659), the Rev. Champion Goldy, 92, is a competitive track athlete who hopes to run the 100-meter dash at age 100. Goldy has won gold medals in Senior Olympics events in the past.

first appeared: 11/29/2009

Visitors to Adventure Aquarium, on the Camden (pop. 79,904) Waterfront, can have interactive experiences with some of the animals and sea life. They can touch a shark or jellyfish, hand-feed birds, and visit seals, penguins and other animals in the 200,000-square-foot aquarium.

first appeared: 11/15/2009

The Cumberland Glass Co. of Bridgeton (pop. 22,771) supplied blue glass bottles to the makers of Bromo-Seltzer, a headache cure first offered in the late 1800s. The popularity of the product soon outstripped the company's ability to supply the bottles, however, and Bromo-Seltzer founder Isaac Emerson organized his own manufacturing facility.

first appeared: 11/1/2009

"Insectropolis" in Toms River (pop. 86,327) is an insect-related learning center set within the architecture of a bug-themed city. The "city" features educational touchscreen computer games, hands-on exhibits, hundreds of live insects and arthropods, thousands of beautiful and bizarre dried insect specimens, and even a bug store.

first appeared: 10/18/2009

In 1772, the soon-to-be state of New Jersey passed the first law in the nation requiring licensure of medical practitioners. Exempted from the law were those who didn't charge for their services, bled patients or performed dentistry.

first appeared: 10/4/2009

Steve Mizerak, born in Perth Amboy (pop. 47,303), was a dominant billiards player during the 1970s and early '80s. He was a four-time U.S. Open champion from 1970-1973 and played a role in the 1986 pool movie The Color of Money and the 1980 film The Baltimore Bullet. In 1966, he founded the "Senior Tour" for pool players 50 years and older.

first appeared: 9/20/2009

Made of fiberglass and foam, a statue of Mr. Peanut was installed on the Atlantic City (pop. 40,517) Boardwalk in 2006, but by the following year, needed repairs. After the job was completed, the statue was moved to the Garden Pier Art Center and then the AC Walk-in Visitor's Center, so the Planters Peanuts Co. mascot could continue to be part of the city's history. A Planters shop opened on the boardwalk in 1930.

first appeared: 9/6/2009

In early 2002, one of the New Jersey coast's last "haunted castle" boardwalk attractions-Castle Dracula-burned to the ground. One of the few items to survive the blaze was the original coat of arms that hung above the entrance gates in the Wildwood (pop. 5,436) castle.

first appeared: 8/23/2009

At the Ugly Mug, a restaurant and bar in Cape May (pop. 4,034), the drinking mugs of its drinking club members are hung from the ceiling, with each mug numbered for its individual members.

first appeared: 8/9/2009

The National Marbles Tournament has been held in Wildwood (pop. 5,436) since 1922. Many tournament champions returned to be recognized and enshrined in the National Marbles Hall of Fame at its official opening in 1993. The hall, located in the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce, is open for viewing during the summer months.

first appeared: 7/26/2009

—Off Sunset Beach at Cape May (pop. 4,034) lies the S.S. Atlantus, a concrete ship that has been slowly sinking since it broke loose from the moorings during a storm in the 1920s. The ship, built during World War I, was one of a few made with alternative materials at a time when steel was in short supply.

first appeared: 7/12/2009

—Designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, Newark's Pennsylvania Station opened in 1935. The interior of the primary waiting room features medallions that illustrate the history of transportation, from wagons through steamships, automobiles and airplanes.

first appeared: 6/28/2009

—Drew Pearson, born in South River (pop. 15,322) in 1951, was a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 to 1983. He caught 489 passes for 7,822 yards and 48 touchdowns, and was a member of the NFL's 1970s All-Decade Team.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

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