Happy Independence Day! Here are some fun facts about the 4th of July!

Fun Fourth Facts!

1. Every 4^th of July, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is tapped on 13 times in honor of the original 13 colonies.
2. It is estimated that 150 million pounds of hotdogs are consumed on this day.
3. America actually declared independence on July 2, 1776, in a meeting of the Second Continental Congress. The Declaration of Independence was officially approved on July 4, 1776, which is why we celebrate on this day.
4. It wasn’t until almost 100 years later in 1870, that the Fourth of July was declared a federal holiday!
5. The Star-Spangled Banner became our National Anthem in 1931. Written by Francis Scott Key during the war of 1812, it took over 100 years to become official.
6. The thirteen colonies consisted of Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
7. In 1781, Massachusetts became the first of the states to make July 4th an official state holiday.
8. America’s Population in 1776 was about 2.5 million. Today, the U.S. population is about 130 times larger than it was then.
9. The current American Flag is the 27^th version! The original featured 13 stars and stripes, each representing one of the original colonies. The current flag hasn’t been altered since the 1960s.
10. Americans spend more than $1 billion on fireworks each year.
11. Three U.S. presidents have died on the 4th of July.
12. Hospitals receive a surplus of patients on July 4th due to firework related injuries. In 2020, an estimated 15,600 people were hospitalized with injuries related to fireworks.