4th of July Facts
1. The Declaration of Independence was not signed
on July 4, 1776. That’s actually the day it was formally
adopted by the Continental Congress, but it wasn’t signed by
most signatories until August.
2. American typically eat 150 million hot dogs
on Independence Day, “enough to stretch from D.C.
to L.A. more than five times,” according to the National
Hot Dog Council.
3. Three presidents have died on July 4: Thomas
Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe.
4. John Adams believed that American independence
should be celebrated on July 2, as that’s the actual day
the Continental Congress voted for independence in 1776.
5. Massachusetts became the first state to make the
4th of July an official state holiday in 1781.
6. The famed Macy’s fireworks show in New York City
uses more than 75,000 fireworks shells and costs about
$6 million.
7. Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest is held annually
on July 4. In 2024, champion Patrick Bertoletti won the
men’s competition, eating 58 hot dogs
8. Independence Day became a federal holiday in 1870.
9. Approximately 5% of the total annual beer consumption
in the US is consumed during the Fourth of July weekend.
This translates to roughly 68.3 million cases of beer.
As of 2016, July 4 was the number one holiday for beer
sales in the U.S., according to the National Beer Wholesalers
Association.
10. Every July 4, descendants of the signers of the Declaration
of Independence tap the Liberty Bell 13 times in honor of the
original 13 colonies.
