Americans are known for being patriotic every day of the year, but Independence Day, the Fourth of July, is the peak display of that. Sit back in your red, white and blue attire, pet a bald eagle and enjoy this list of patriotic facts:
150 million
Number of hot dogs eaten on the Fourth of July. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, that’s enough hot dogs to make a line from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles more than five times.
(AP Photo)
$40
Rules and regulations add up to this much to the cost of food for a family of four on the Fourth of July, according to the American Action Forum. The group says that, between hamburgers, hot dogs, corn, beer and fireworks, more than 2,000 federal regulations affect Fourth of July celebrations.
$370.75
Amount the average American household will spend on Fourth of July festivities. According to WalletHub, that’s 7 percent more than last year.
240
Years since July 4, 1776. Happy 240th Birthday, America!
85
Age of the official National Anthem. Although “The Star-Spangled Banner” was written more than a century earlier, the song was not officially designated as the National Anthem until 1931. Before that, there was no official anthem.
6,500
Number of fireworks shells shot off over the National Mall on July 4 for the National Park Service’s annual celebration.
43
Number of states that allow some or all types of consumer fireworks. Four states allow only novelty items, such as sparklers. Three states ban all consumer fireworks.
285 million
Amount, in pounds, of fireworks consumed in 2015, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. That much weight is equivalent to 18,500 adult elephants. More than 90 percent of fireworks are used by consumers, not formal spectator displays.
(AP Photo)
43 percent
Share of Americans that will attend the 15,000 various fireworks displays held on the Fourth of July.
42 percent
Decrease in air quality on July 4 because of fireworks, as measured by the level of fine particulate matter in the air. (Thanks for the buzzkill, NOAA.)
56
Number of people who signed the Declaration of Independence — although not all of them signed it on July 4, 1776.
27
The number of different official flags the United States has used. The last change was made on July 4, 1960, with the addition of the 50th star. The current version is the longest-running one.
64 percent
Share of Americans who own an American flag.
70,000
The number of bald eagles found in North America. But only about 10,000 live in the lower 48 states.
(AP Photo)
71 percent
Share of Americans who prefer mustard on their hot dog. A slight majority say they also like ketchup on their hot dogs, despite Dirty Harry’s declaration that, “Nobody, I mean nobody, puts ketchup on a hot dog.”
3
Number of countries that celebrate July 4 as their national liberation holiday: Rwanda, the Philippines and the United States.
22
Number of words in the original Pledge of Allegiance, written by Francis Bellamy in 1892. “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands — one Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
3:09
Approximate runtime of Lee Greenwood’s famous song, “God Bless the USA.” (Yes, sorry about that.)
217,000
Number of total U.S. servicemembers believed to have taken part in the Revolutionary War. In contrast, World War II had 74 times more total U.S. servicemembers.
377
Number of steps from the Statue of Liberty’s lobby to its crown. The statue’s original torch was replaced in 1986.
(AP Photo)
554 feet, 7 and 11/32 inches
Height of the Washington Monument. The ultra-specific measurement was taken after the 2011 earthquake that shut down the monument for years, but the earthquake was found to have no effect on the Monument’s height.
ZERO
Number of nations in the universe better than the good ol’ U.S. of A.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
