# Where did the jokes about New Jersey being a horrible place come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499 "2009-10-28T19:30:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/41 "2009-10-30T03:21:03Z")
> [@Bisected8](#): > > We don’t have any animosity towards its namesake over here in Britain at least. A vague analogy would be the way Slough is treated by Londoners (and everyone else). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/42 "2009-10-30T03:45:00Z")
I’ve driven through NJ several times, on my way to an annual event in White Plains. Since I refuse to even try to drive through NYC, we don’t take the turnpike and instead go through some absolutely beautiful woodland (I-80 to I-287/87 PAST New York City and over the Hudson on the Tappan Zee). ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/43 "2009-10-30T04:16:31Z")
Y’know a lot of “New York” comics actually came from Jersey. North Jersey. From Abbott and Costello to Jerry Lewis to the [Borscht Belt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borscht_Belt) gang. My guess is that the Borscht Belt started it. Lots of their crowd were living in Jersey and many of them lived there or came from there. Borscht Belt humor was self drepracating and you made fun of what you knew. Soon it became the stand-in place to made fun of, sort of like Poles were the people to a different sort of joke in a different venue. The influence of the Borscht Belt on stand-up for years later is underappreciated I think. It was the training ground for some of the most influential comics of the last 50 plus years. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/44 "2009-10-30T06:22:39Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > And they were considering making that the state anthem.:dubious: Never been to Jersey, but based on its reputation, I figured this would be a good state song: > [@Chris Rea](#): > > Well I’m standing by a river > But the water doesn’t flow > It boils with every poison you can think of ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/45 "2009-10-30T08:39:39Z")
Well WAG but 1. Though much of the “Garden State” is lovely suburbs, when entering from NY through certain paths, you go through a large industrial area, often with a noticeable garbage dump smell and 2. It’s somewhat known for it’s corrupt politics and scandals and 1. It’s sometimes thought of the place where people live when they work in NYC but can’t afford to live there . ---
**Author:** ![J\_Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/46 "2009-10-30T18:28:39Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Much of the image problem is due to the fact that the part most people see, the New Jersey Turnpike between New York City and Philadelphia, is lined with smoke-belching, stench-spewing chemical refineries and other industrial sites. Also, many of the communities adjacent to New York City such as Newark were subject to serious urban blight in the 1960s. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > Much of the humor poking is because all many people see of it is from driving down the New Jersey Turnpike out of NYC. The area around the turnpike is uber-industrial which belching stacks and concrete and steel everything. > [@acsenray](#): > > People who live in Manhattan will often never do anything in New Jersey except drive through it on the New Jersey Parkway. The parts of New Jersey that can be seen on the parkway are mostly industrial parks, factories, and other unpleasant views. > [@qazwart](#): > > I think much of New Jersey’s reputation was solidified by the beautiful route that the New Jersey Turnpike takes through Northern New Jersey. As you go from Jersey City over the bridge, you pass by several heating oil storage towers. Then as you head South, you go by some refineries and finally Linden’s Co-Generation Power Plant. > [@Uncertain](#): > > Also, the industrial area that surrounds the norther part of the New Jersey Turnpike has had a disproportionate effect on people’s perceptions. I’m surprised that nobody has mentioned this. > [@Philster](#): > > On their tours, they were exposed to places between Newark and New York City in New Jersey, and these are some of very worst sides of the state. Of course, other travelers in and out of the NYC and the greater NYC area were exposed to the very same things/areas. > > It is not hard to imagine how the largest city in the USA, host to numerous comedy clubs and acts, and one of the most visited places in the world, would play a role in how New Jersey is perceived, especially since most visitors were exposed to a very specific set of areas (a corridor, if you will), many of which are just awful representations of the state of NJ. > [@shiftless](#): > > For me, and I suspect it is true of others, the only view I’ve ever had of NJ was the turnpike as I drove from the south to New York or Boston. Not a pretty place. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > But the view from anywhere north of exit 9 or so is dreadful. And it stinks. The jokes come from the 1920s when a death ray of the era destroyed a large swath of the state along the turnpike. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/47 "2009-10-30T18:38:58Z")
> [@J\_Cubed](#): > > The jokes come from the 1920s when a death ray of the era destroyed a large swath of the state along the turnpike. How appropriate for today! Have you seen the monument in Grover’s Mill? [File:Landingsite statue.JPG - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Landingsite_statue.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/48 "2009-10-30T20:00:50Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Cape May County is pure heaven. I hope the taxes aren’t that high in heaven. I may never get to know as I may have to sell my soul just to be able to afford them. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/49 "2009-10-30T20:36:17Z")
> [@J\_Cubed](#): > > The jokes come from the 1920s when a death ray of the era destroyed a large swath of the state along the turnpike. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > How appropriate for today! Have you seen the monument in Grover’s Mill? [File:Landingsite statue.JPG - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Landingsite_statue.JPG) Bravo.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Da\_ICON](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Da\_ICON](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Da_ICON)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/50 "2009-10-30T23:56:28Z")
Pffffft…nobody has mentioned the ‘Jersey Devil’…that is one scary bastard. Napoleon’s brother saw the thing for pete’s sake! ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/51 "2009-10-30T23:58:56Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > But wait, Jersey has two NFL teams and the state of New York only has one (and that one is 350 miles from Manhattan). > > Jersey exist to make Staten Island seem not so bad. Or is it the other way around? Of course, neither of New Jersey’s football teams actually acknowledge that they’re from New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/52 "2009-10-31T00:41:56Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Never been to Jersey, but based on its reputation, I figured this would be a good state song: > > > [@Chris Rea](#): > > > > Well I’m standing by a river > > But the water doesn’t flow > > It boils with every poison you can think of First they’d have to fight Ohio for it: [Cuyahoga River](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_River) > [@](#): > > There have reportedly been at least thirteen fires on the Cuyahoga River, the first occurring in 1868. The largest river fire in 1952 caused over $1 million in damage to boats and a riverfront office building. Fires erupted on the river several more times before June 22, 1969, when a river fire captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that “oozes rather than flows” and in which a person “does not drown but decays.” ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/53 "2009-10-31T06:31:31Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Much of the image problem is due to the fact that the part most people see, the New Jersey Turnpike between New York City and Philadelphia, is lined with smoke-belching, stench-spewing chemical refineries and other industrial sites. Also, many of the communities adjacent to New York City such as Newark were subject to serious urban blight in the 1960s. Also, during the 1970s the Turnpike passed a huge garbage dump whose smell was spectacularly awful. The fact that it wasn’t visible from the highway made the experience all the more vivid. I see that at least one of the old Meadowlands dumps has now been turned into [an environmental park](http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org/Articles.php?ID=5). Scholarly article on subject: [http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/tph.2005.27.3.57](http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/tph.2005.27.3.57) The Turnpike is part of Route 95 which runs from Florida to Maine and connects Boston and NYC to Washington DC. The smells of the Meadowlands and its garbage pits were a singular experience for many years, giving New Jersey a reputation that lives on. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/54 "2009-10-31T06:50:19Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > First they’d have to fight Ohio for it: [Cuyahoga River](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_River) Yes, but the title of the song I quoted is “Road to Hell”, which sounds like the perfect description of the Jersey Turnpike. But there’s no reason NJ couldn’t share the song with Cleveland… ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/55 "2009-10-31T10:48:52Z")
You can put much of the blame for the popularity of Cleveland jokes on the late Pat McCormick. For many years, he was Johnny Carson’s head writer on “The Tonight Show”, and would frequently slip cracks about his home town into Johnny’s opening monologues. For those without a predisposition to despise New Jersey, John Pizzarelli’s song [“I Like Jersey Best”](http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,146903,00.html) is a fine antidote. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/56 "2009-10-31T11:40:21Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > the title of the song I quoted is “Road to Hell”, which sounds like the perfect description of the Jersey Turnpike. Nah. It goes _past_ Newark. Seriously. We recently took a trip to Disney World with some of fella bilong missus flodnak’s extended family, and the group had to change planes in Newark (“Liberty”) Airport. My brother-in-law commented to me, once the plane was on the ground, that if he thought all of the US looked like what we’d seen from the plane windows as we landed, he would have been on the next flight back to Norway, and I had to admit that I would have been right behind him. It’s not a great introduction to the US. But I didn’t come here just to slam North Jersey. No, I came to slam Atlantic City, another possible source of the jokes about the Garden State. Once it was a fashionable seaside resort, but they didn’t decide to allow gambling there because people were getting bored with all the lovely things it had to offer. No, they allowed gambling in Atlantic City because the beautiful people had packed up and left and the place was a dump. And all the '64 Democratic National Convention did was call everyone’s attention to the fact that the place was a dump. For years after gambling was allowed, it didn’t seem to help the rest of the city in the slightest; gamblers were bussed to the glamorous Boardwalk casinos through grimy, run-down neighborhoods. (To be honest, I have no idea what the rest of the city is like now. I have been there once and it didn’t give me any desire to return.) ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/57 "2009-10-31T13:04:10Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Of course, neither of New Jersey’s football teams actually acknowledge that they’re from New Jersey. Same for the “bridge and tunnel crowd” hanging out in the nightclubs in Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/58 "2009-10-31T13:50:35Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > New Jersey doesn’t have a state anthem. It’s the only state in the Union without an official song, actually. Incorrect. No “state song” or “state anthem” but there is a “state youth anthem” … and it is [Born to Run](http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/test/article_24f71096-7823-5886-9322-454099da3d3b.html). /Atlantic County native //Sprung from a cage on Highway 9 ///Thinks South Jersey should secede ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/59 "2009-10-31T14:01:11Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > For years after gambling was allowed, it didn’t seem to help the rest of the city in the slightest; gamblers were bussed to the glamorous Boardwalk casinos through grimy, run-down neighborhoods. (To be honest, I have no idea what the rest of the city is like now. I have been there once and it didn’t give me any desire to return.) It’s pretty much the same. Much of the casino tax revenue goes to Trenton and never comes back. Much of what does come back goes to build infrastructure to help the casino industry. Most of the better casino jobs are held by people who live outside the city on the mainland (AC is on an island) and commute. The city itself is casino and ghetto, dancing cheek to cheek ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499/60 "2009-10-31T14:20:11Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > 1. It’s somewhat known for it’s corrupt politics and scandals Hey it’s a tiny state with a ridiculous amount of money. You gotta spend it on _something_. Even the not so bad sections of the turnpike are straight, flat, and dreary so from end to end it’s not a very good representation of the fine state of NJ for passers-through. Not that it was designed to be that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-jokes-about-new-jersey-being-a-horrible-place-come-from/515499.md?page=4)