4th of July Fun Facts
Submitted by Ed Kufeldt
The Fourth of July this year marks the 244th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain and its king. Although you may be familiar with some popular facts of the historical event also known as Independence Day, you may find it interesting to learn of some lesser known or "fun facts."
The Continental Congress approved a Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1976, and many historians believe that date should be the official day of the United States of America Independence. In making a case for the date, John Adams, a key Continental Congress delegate from Massachusetts and a principal leader of the Revolution, wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3rd that "July 2nd would go down in history."
July 4th was chosen as the official birthday because on that date, the Continental Congress accepted and approved Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence document.
Thomas Jefferson drafted the document on a "laptop," a portable writing table used on one's lap.
The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men from 13 colonies. Only John Hancock and Charles Thompson signed the document on July 4, 1776. Most men signed it on August 2, 1776.
The average age of signees was 45. The youngest was Edward Rutledge aged 26 and the oldest was Benjamin Franklin at age 70. Thomas Jefferson was 33.
Two signers became presidents: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
The first celebration of independence occurred on July 8, 1976, in Philadelphia when people were summoned for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
The first White House July 4th party occurred in 1801, the first year of Thomas Jefferson's presidency.
Three presidents, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe died on July 4th. Adams and Jefferson died on the same day in 1826, the 50th anniversary of the USA’s independence.
The tradition of fireworks on Independence Day began on July 4, 1777. Firework colors depend upon the metals contained within the explosive: copper burns blue, aluminum and titanium burn white, barium burns green, calcium burns orange, and sodium burns yellow.
New York City has the largest July 4th fireworks display in the country.
Bristol, Rhode Island hosts the oldest, continuous July 4th celebration dating back to 1785.
In 1781 Massachusetts became the first state to declare July 4th an official holiday. The U.S. Congress made Independence Day an official unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870. In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday to be effective in 1941.
On every July 4th, the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is tapped, not rung, 13 times in honor of the original colonies. When built the Liberty Bell had nothing to do with celebrating the country's independence. It wasn't called the "Liberty Bell" until the 1830's and that is when it got its famous crack.
Nowadays, typical food for a July 4th celebration includes hot dogs, hamburgers, brats and other barbecued treats. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans will eat over 150 million hot dogs this year during the holiday.
Our Founding Fathers had much different food tastes for celebrating the country's independence. According to legend, John Adams and his wife Abigail celebrated the event by having turtle soup, New England poached salmon with egg sauce, green peas, and boiled new potatoes in jackets, followed by Indian pudding or Apple Pandowdy.