Page 13 - IAV Digital Magazine #428

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4th of July
In July 1776, about 2.5 million people lived in the U.S. There are more than 321 mil- lion today.
56 people signed the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson did most of the writing, with the Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston con- tributing.
John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress, was the first signer. Legend has that Hancock’s large and elabo- rate signature was done so King George and others in Great Britain would be able to see them.
Americans will eat 150 million hot dogs this Fourth of July. That’s enough to stretch from New York to Los Angeles more than five times.
Two future presi-
dents, John Adams (sec-
ond president) and Thomas Jefferson (third president) signed the Declaration of Independence. In a strange twist, both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing.
James Monroe, the fifth U.S. president, died July 4, 1831.
The overwhelming majority of fire- works you will see this Fourth of July will come from China. Out of $257.8 million worth of imported fireworks last year, $247 million came from China. The U.S. exports only $11.9 million of fireworks each year.
Americans will buy 63.5 million cases of beer over the holiday, making it
the biggest day of the
year for beer sales.
The U.S. imported $3.6 million worth of American flags in 2014. Of that amount, $3.5 mil- lion came from China.
Turkey spent $673,000 on American flags last year, more than any other foreign country.
Denmark has a large 4th of July celebration each year. A group of U.S. immigrants living in Denmark started the cele- bration and the city of Rebild now bills itself as having the largest 4th of July celebration outside the U.S.
The Fourth of July commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of
Independence. It was initially adopt- ed on July 2, 1776 but revised and the final version adopted two days later.
There is only one census-recognized place in the U.S. with “patriot” in its name. Patriot, Ind. has an estimated population of 205.
There are five American flags fly- ing on the moon.
The National
Retail Federation estimates that American house- holds will spend an average of $71.23 per household on food for cookouts. That’s an increase of $68.16 from last year.
The oldest, contin- uous Independence Day celebration in the United States is
the 4th of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island; it began in 1785.
One of the United States’ patriotic songs, “Yankee Doodle” was origi- nally sung by British military offi- cers prior to the Revolution as a means to mock the disorganized American colonists who fought along- side them during the French and Indian Wars.
France, Greece, Poland, Russia and several coun- tries in South America used the Declaration of Independence as a beacon in their own struggles for freedom
The “Star Spangled Banner” was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of
1812 and not decreed the offi- cial national anthem of the United States until 1931
The Pennsylvania
Evening Post was the first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence
To avoid cracking it, the Liberty Bell has not been rung since 1846. To mark the quintes- sential day, every fourth of July it is symbolically tapped 13 times
Two of our nation’s great national symbols were made overseas. The Liberty Bell was cast in England, and the Statue of Liberty in France
The average age of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence was 45. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest at age 70, and Edward Rutledge was the youngest at age 26
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