The region had questions. Unfortunately, so did we.

The Jug Handle is an independent humor publication based in Morris County, New Jersey, covering roadside anomalies, suburban mysteries, baffling signs, local business absurdity and other matters receiving far more investigation than they deserve.

It was created by Mike Aitchison, a New Jersey writer and longtime stand-up comedy obsessive who has spent years noticing signs, slogans, parking lots, toll notices, mascots and other perfectly ordinary things and then refusing to leave them alone.

The editorial method is simple: find something real, take its wording or logic much too literally, and investigate it well beyond the point at which any reasonable person would have moved on. A chair on Route 10 becomes a migration story. A tree with a FOR SALE sign enters the housing market. An AARP envelope becomes an existential threat.

Most stories begin with something that actually happened, actually exists, or was actually photographed. From there, standards deteriorate rapidly.

This is satire and humor, not a traditional news outlet. The objects are often real. The quotes may be real. The investigations are unnecessary. The conclusions should not be introduced as evidence in court.