- Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national animal but was out-voted when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson chose the bald eagle.
- Over an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed on July 4th. That's roughly one hot dog for every two people in the U.S.
- The first Fourth of July party was held at the White House in 1801.
- The words “under God” were not added to the Pledge of Allegiance until the year 1954.
- More than 74 million Americans will BBQ on July 4th.
- The Fourth 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.
- The stars on the original American flag were arranged in a circle to ensure that all colonies were represented equally.
- Three U.S. presidents have died on July 4th: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence; five years later, James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.
- Calvin Coolidge is the only U.S. president born on the 4th of July. He was born in 1872.
- Marie Curie, the only woman to win two Nobel Prizes and the only person to win two in two different science fields, died on July 4, 1934.
Q: What did one flag say to the other flag?
A: Nothing, it just waved.
Q: Why did the duck say “bang”?
A: Because he was a firequacker.