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New Jersey Might Get 3 New State Symbols

TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - A moth, a mineral and an inventor don't have much in common but they might soon share a designation as New Jersey's newest state symbols.

Lawmakers this week introduced measures declaring the Io moth the state moth, Franklinite the state mineral and Thomas Alva Edison the state inventor.

Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin sponsored the moth measure and says the issue has long been on the radar of the East Brunswick Friends of the Environment.

Pinkin says we always think of moths as eating your clothes, but "they help keep the ecosystem going.''

The moth is found across the eastern United States and is known for dark, eye-like spots on its wings.

Franklinite is named after the mineral-rich town of Franklin in Sussex County.

Edison, known as the Wizard of Menlo Park, invented the electric pen, an early version of a copy machine and one of the first commercially viable incandescent lightbulbs.

If it were up to you, what would you choose as the New Jersey state symbol?

 (TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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