[VIDEO] New Jersey: Diners, Devils, and Delightfully Weird Facts

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Weird & Interesting State Facts Playlist

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Weird & Interesting State Facts Playlist

New Jersey: Diners, Devils, and Delightfully Weird Facts

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Welcome to New Jersey—the Garden State! Sure, it’s famous for beaches, diners, and being the birthplace of rock icon Bruce Springsteen, but New Jersey also has some seriously strange laws, spooky legends, and unique claims to fame.

Let’s start with some weird laws. In New Jersey, it’s illegal to slurp soup in public—so keep it quiet at the diner! Another odd one? You can’t pump your own gas. It’s one of only two states in the entire U.S. where attendants still do it for you. And in Newark, selling ice cream after 6 p.m. without a doctor’s note used to be against the law.

Now for some unusual stories and landmarks. New Jersey is home to one of America’s oldest and creepiest legends—the Jersey Devil. Said to haunt the Pine Barrens since the 1700s, this winged creature has been blamed for livestock killings, eerie screams, and even shutting down schools during a 1909 “panic.” The state also boasts Lucy the Elephant, a six-story-tall elephant-shaped building in Margate City, originally built in 1881 as a bizarre real estate advertisement.

What makes New Jersey truly unique? It has more diners than any other state—earning it the title “Diner Capital of the World.” It also has the most scientists and engineers per square mile, thanks in part to Thomas Edison’s famous lab in Menlo Park. And let’s not forget: New Jersey was the site of the first recorded baseball game in 1846 in Hoboken.

From outlawed soup slurping to devilish folklore, New Jersey proves it’s much more than just a turnpike state. Like, comment, and subscribe for more weird and interesting facts from all 50 U.S. states!tates can pack in big weirdness, like, comment, and subscribe for more weird and interesting facts from all 50 US states.