Fun Facts about July 4th

I don't know about you, but as July 4th draws near, I can't help but get excited about all the barbecues that will be happening this weekend (hotdogs and potato salad and apple pie galore)! In honor of Independence Day, our team has rounded up our favorite list of fun and interesting facts about the holiday. Some are historical and some are just plain fun but, either way, they're sure to put you in the 4th of July mood!

July 4th should actually be celebrated on July 2nd. 

The Continental Congress actually voted to declare independence two days earlier on July 2nd, 1776, not July 4th [1].

John Adam's predictions were half correct, half wrong. 

In a letter to his wife, Abigail, John Adams wrote that he foresaw that there would be a day of celebration with "Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations", but he thought that the American people would celebrate this great day on July 2nd (whoops) [2]. He even reportedly refused invitations to July 4th affairs in protest [3].

3 out of 5 of the first US Presidents died on July 4th. 

Our 2nd and 3rd US Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the 50th Anniversary of July 4th in 1826. James Monroe, the 5th US President, also passed away on the same day five years later in 1831 [4].

A US President and first daughter were born on July 4th. 

Our 30th US President, Coolidge, was born on July 4, 1872 and our current first daughter, Malia Ann Obama, was born on July 4, 1998 [5].

Fourth of July didn't become an official holiday until years later. 

The celebrations we think of now do not date back to the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Fourth of July wasn't declared a federal holiday until 1870 by Congress and a paid federal holiday until 1938 [6].

The highest consumption of hot dogs falls on July 4th. 

Although we still haven't decoded the mystery around the packaging of ten hot dogs and eight hot dog buns, around 155 million hot dogs are eaten every July 4th weekend [7].

The population of the US has grown over 123 times since its conception. 

When the United States of America first began its independent journey, there were about 2.5 million people and in the 2010 Census, there was an estimated population of 309.6 million people [8].

And that's all we've got -- have a safe and wonderful weekend, everyone! (Be sure to share any fun Fourth of July anecdotes with us in the comments below!)

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This blog post was written by Michelle Zhang, member of the marketing team at MerusCase.