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New Jersey ISN'T the Garden State!

TRENTON, NJ (CBS) -- You might not believe this, but truth be told, New Jersey is NOT the Garden State. Not officially, anyway, although there are efforts in the legislature to change that.

Sure, it's on lots of stuff, like license plates. And we've used the phrase since, like, forever. But here's a little bit of trivia from Atlantic County State Senator Jim Whelan.

"It's not the official slogan," Whelan told KYW Newsradio. "We have no official slogan according to, I am told, a girl scout troop in Mercer County who has done the research from this."

Not that they haven't tried, mind you.

"There was a contest several years ago that tried to come up with a state slogan but there was no consensus on it," he added.

That may soon change. A bill voted out of a senate committee would make that 'Garden State' moniker official. You can't imagine anyone voting against this, but Whelan isn't ready to predict that the bill will pass. Stranger things have happened under the Golden Dome in Trenton.

But he hopes those girl scouts are getting a good civics lesson.

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