Tourists and history buffs alike love interesting facts about the George Washington Bridge. There is certainly no shortage of fun facts about the George Washington Bridge. Here are five of the most unusual.

1. Radio fans save bridge

Howard Stern fans were called to action on December 7, 1994. A young man called Stern’s radio show and announced that he was about to jump off the George Washington Bridge. Westbound listeners stopped his car and tried to talk him out of it. A Port Authority police officer, who was also listening to Stern, rescued the man and then used the would-be jumper’s cell phone to tell Stern and his listeners that the man was safe.

2. Flight Plan Deviations

Christmas Day 1965 shocked motorists on the George Washington Bridge when a small plane crashed into the westbound lanes. A young pilot had skimped on his previous flight and left his fuel cap open. An old pilots adage is: “A good landing is one where you walk away. A great landing is one where you can use the plane again.” This was a good landing, as the pilot and her passenger came out with minor injuries. However, it did not turn out to be a great landing, as the plane was demolished. He also hit a truck, whose driver must have had fun explaining to his dispatcher why he was late and his equipment was damaged. Motorists received another aviation surprise on January 15, 2009, when US Airways Flight 1549 approached them. Pilot Chesley Sullenberger managed to clear the bridge by just 900 feet before splashing down in the Hudson.

3. What’s in a name?

Local newspapers called for a more ingenious name than the original Hudson River Bridge. Among his suggestions were Bistate and the Mother’s Bridge, the Bridge of Prosperity, the Gate of Paradise, and the Pride of the Nation. However, it was New York City school children who managed to push for it to be renamed after George Washington. The name is particularly apt, as the Manhattan end of the bridge is near Fort Washington, from where Washington once withdrew forces from it to Fort Lee, near the New Jersey end of the bridge.

4. The heaviest traffic in the world

The day the George Washington Bridge opened, it welcomed more than 55,000 vehicles, 33,000 pedestrians and a jockey on a horse named Rubio. The bridge now carries approximately 106 million vehicles a year, an average of almost 300,000 per day, the most of any motorized vehicle bridge in the world. Pedestrians, as well as skaters and cyclists, still traverse the upper deck.

5. Unwanted landfill

With all that traffic, mishaps are inevitable. Occasionally, trucks have overturned and spilled their cargo. Among the unscheduled deliveries were beer, frozen chicken pieces and watermelons. A truck released a herd of goats that were trotting along the roads. Another truck showered motorists and bridge employees with free fertilizer when it couldn’t contain its load of manure.