4th of July Trivia and Fun Facts

Today is the day! Happy 4th of July! Today we celebrate the freedom of our country and the men and women who fight to keep it that way. I hope you enjoyed this collection of 4th of July trivia and my 4th of July Jokes. I thought in honor of this awesome holiday I would leave you with some fun facts and trivia for you to ponder as you celebrate your freedom!

4th of July Trivia and Fun Facts

• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national animal but was outvoted when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson chose the bald eagle.
• Over an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed today. That’s roughly 1 dog for every two people in the U.S.
• Oddly, the majority of the nation’s flags and patriotic paraphernalia in relation to the 4th of July are produced in China. Nearly $349 million dollars are used each year to import the flags, banners, decorations, and emblems.
• The first 4th of July party held at the White House was in 1801.
• The 4th of July was not declared a national holiday until 1941.
• The national anthem is actually set to the tune of an old English drinking song called To Anacreon in Heaven.
• John Hancock was the only person to actually sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The other 55 signers did not sign it until August 2nd or even later.
• The youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence was 26-year-old Edward Rutledge. The oldest signer was Benjamin Franklin. He was 70. Most of the signers were in their 30s and 40s.
• When the United States became a country, there were approximately 2.5 million people living in the country. Today the population is around 304 million.
• Bristol, Rhode Island has the oldest, continuous 4th of July celebration dating back to 1785.
• Thirty places nationwide with “liberty” in their name. Liberty, Missouri (26,232) boasts the highest population of the 30 at 26,232. Iowa has more of these places than any other state at four: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.
• Eleven places have “independence” in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Missouri, with 113,288 residents.
• Five places adopted the name “freedom.” Freedom, California, with 6,000 residents, has the largest population among these.
• There is one place named “Patriot” — Patriot, Indiana, with a population of 202.
• And what could be more fitting than spending the day in a place called “America”? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, with 21,941 residents.