New Jersey is the third state in the United States of America to join the nation.
Most people who dislike NJ are actually thinking of north Jersey, which is really an outcropping of the hideous New York City. The central and southern parts of the state are nice.
Pointless "state" things:
American Folk Dance: the Square Dance
animal: JetBlack horse (Equus caballus)
bird: Eastern Goldfinch
bug/insect: honey bee (apis mellifera)
dinosaur: Hadrosaurus
fish: brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
tree: red oak (Quercus borealis maxima)
flower: common meadow violet (Viola sororia)
nickname: "The Garden State"
shell: knobbed whelk (commonly known as the "conch") (Busycon carica gmelin)
tall ship: A.J. Meerwald