Bang! Fun July 4th Facts

It was an exciting July 4^th weekend with food, fun and fireworks. Matt Stonie won the 2015 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island by scarfing down 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes. That is a total of 17,360 calories and 1.116 grams of fat – not including the bun! The 39^th annual Macy’s Fireworks Show over the East River in New York featured more than 50,000 effects and lasted for 25 minutes drawing a crowd of over three million spectators. AAA Travel projected 41 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more from their home during the Independence Day holiday weekend, a 1.9 percent increase from the 40.3 million people who traveled last year and a nearly 14 percent increase compared to the Memorial Day weekend.

On July 4^, 1776, The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence but Americans didn’t start celebrating until almost 100 years later. In 1870 Congress first declared July 4^th to be a national holiday as part of a bill to officially recognize several holiday, including Christmas.

Our friends at Fox Houston shared these other great July 4^th facts.

1. Thomas Jefferson was the first president to hold a Fourth of July party at the White House in 1801.

2. Celebrations became more widespread after the War of 1812 with Great Britain.

3. Fast forward to 2015 and 80% of Americans will attend a barbecue, picnic or cookout over the Fourth of July weekend.

4. About 150 million hot dogs will be consumed this weekend.

5. There have been 28 versions of the U.S. flag to date. The most recent one was designed for a school project in 1958, after Alaska and Hawaii joined the United States.

6. Three of the first five presidents died on the Fourth of July: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe.

7. The second president, Adams, and the third, Jefferson, both died in 1826, the country’s 50^th anniversary.

8. James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.

9. Conversely, Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872.

10. Thomas Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration of Independence was lost. The one eventually signed is the “engrossed” document.

11. The Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Britain on July 2, 1776, but didn’t approve the declaration until July 4, 1776.

12. Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

13. Historians believe the other 54 people actually signed the document on August 2, 1776.

14. In 1776, about 2.5 million people lived in the United States. Today, about 318 million people make the United States their home!

15. The Fourth of July became a federal holiday in 1870; in 1938, a provision was expanded to grant a paid holiday to all federal employees.

We hope you had a safe and fun July 4^th holiday.