NEXSTAR (KIAH) — We did some digging and found some facts about July 4th that you might not know.
Did you know John Adams thought July 2 would be the day celebrated in history as Independence Day? That’s the day the Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence. It turns out it was adopted two days later on July 4, 1776.
According to a report from Parade Magazine, the Fourth of July was marked in the 18th and 19th centuries but became a big deal in 1870 when Congress declared it a federal holiday.
In 1941, it became a paid federal holiday for federal employee, according to Parade.
And from there, the holiday became all about hot dogs, pools and spending time with family and friends.
Here are a few other fun facts about the Fourth dug up by the team at Parade Magazine:
- Americans 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 and Sausage Council.
- Three presidents have died on July 4: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe.
- Massachusetts became the first state to make the 4th of July an official state holiday in 1781.
- President Zachary Taylor died in 1850 after eating spoiled fruit at a July 4 celebration.
- In 1778, George Washington gave his soldiers a double ration of rum to celebrate the July 4 holiday.
- The famed Macy’s fireworks show in New York City uses more than 75,000 fireworks shells and costs about $6 million.
For the full list of Fourth of July facts, you can click here.
