This Hunterdon County tunnel has been an extra in TV and movies

In Hunterdon County, in the town of High Bridge, sits a small tunnel on Arch Street. The train tracks of NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line pass over it. It's not much to look at, but it has character. And like all great character actors, it's been seen in movies and TV shows a lot. Even if you don't remember it.

The latest screen time is from a quirky Netflix series involving Nicholas Cage called The History of Swear Words. It's just that. A deep dive into the origins and cultural usage of certain swear words. It's a six-part series that dropped Jan. 5 and covered such words as "bitch," "damn" and, in episode 5, which features the tunnel, let's just say it's a word that President Trump was caught on mic saying you can grab when you're famous.

Why does this brief shot of the tunnel on Arch Street in High Bridge appear in the episode? No one really knows. According to NJ.com, which ran a very cool, in-depth story on this bridge and its cinematic history, Janice Hovach with the Hunterdon County Film Commission said, “The proximity to the city is key for anything, because there’s a radius. But you also have a large number of production people that live in New Jersey, so it tends to be cheaper. And if a studio decides they want to do something, there’s enough of a base of staff that they can pull from here in New Jersey without having to drag people out from New York.”

Kovach says there were several movies in the 1980s that used the small tunnel. And perhaps the most attention it ever received was in the form of hundreds of millions of views appearing in a music video for Kygo and Selena Gomez's "It Ain't Me."

What, no "Tunnel of Love" by Bruce Springsteen?

If you're interested in the etymology of certain common curse words look for The History of Swear Words on Netflix. In addition to Nicholas Cage, you'll see entertainers like Sarah Silverman, Nick Offerman and others. Just don't have the kids around.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.