Personal Challenge 2108 - Week 3

I hope you will make it a point to come to my blog on Fridays this year because that is the day I'll be posting my 50-week personal "State of the Union Cards" challenge. Each week I'll be focusing on one of the states in the United States (in the order they attained statehood). I'll do a little research and I'll share some of the interesting "tidbits" I've learned in my search. Then I'll take something I've learned about the state and use it for inspiration for that day's card. The first week I focused on Delaware and last week (week 2) was Pennsylvania. This week we are traveling to New Jersey.

New Jersey

Date of Statehood: December 18, 1787

Here are some interesting tidbits I've learned about New Jersey...

New Jersey has the highest population density in the US with an average of 1,030 people per square mile, which is 13 times the national average. It is more densely populated than China, and almost as crowded as India. In addition, it has the highest urban population concentration in the US, with 90% of the people of New Jersey living in an urban area.

North Jersey has the highest concentration of shopping malls in one area in the entire world. There are seven major shopping malls in a small 25 mile radius.

The first Indian reservation was located in New Jersey.

Lucy the Elephant, located in Margate, was constructed in 1881 as a marketing gimmick by a land speculator. Lucy stands six-stories tall, and weighs 90 tons.

The honeybee is New Jersey's state insect.

Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world. Its wooden planks stretch four miles down the beachfront. 

Another interesting thing about Atlantic City is the fact that the street names in the board game Monopoly are named after actual streets found there.

The largest water tower in the world - The Union Watershpere - is found in Union New Jersey.

In New Jersey, you cannot wear a bullet-proof vest while committing a murder as it’s illegal; you cannot buy a car on a Sunday as car dealerships are not allowed to open on Sunday; you may also not slurp your soup as it’s forbidden and automobiles cannot pass horse-drawn carriages on the street. It is also against the law to plant a tree in the middle of the street in Blairstown.

The only reason bottled water has a sell by date in the US is because of a law in New Jersey requiring one for everything. 

In 1935, the police in Atlantic City, New Jersey, arrested 42 men on the beach. They were cracking down on topless bathing suits worn by men.

People convicted of drunk driving in New Jersey are banned from using vanity plates.

40% of the most delayed flights in the United States reportedly are either flying to or from Newark, New Jersey.

New Jersey has more horses than the state of Kentucky.

Despite its small size, New Jersey has a big appetite. The state is often called the “diner capital of the world” for the hundreds of classic diners that pepper the state’s roadways.

For my card inspiration, I've decided to go with this little-known fact about New Jersey... New Jerseyans are smart: the state has more engineers and scientists per square mile than anywhere else in the world.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!


Supplies Used

Stamp Set: Sugar Pea Designs Adorkable stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers and Zig Wink of Stella Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and White CS and DP from my scrap file

Embellishments: Brads from an unknown vendor