Happy 4th of July from Quikstone Capital Solutions! Here are 20 stats and fun facts to share with your customers, family and friends. Have fun and be safe!
1. Fireworks injured an estimated 12,884 people in 2017. With 70% of these injuries happening to men.
2. Massachusetts is the only state that completely bans the commercial selling and ownership of fireworks year-round – states like Iowa, Delaware and New Jersey now legalize them on the 4th of July and New Year’s Eve only.
3. 27% of Americans will purchase patriotic merchandise for the Fourth of July.
4. 62% of Americans own an American flag.
5. One US president, Calvin Coolidge, was born on July 4. So were Nathaniel Hawthorne, Neil Simon, George Steinbrenner, and Malia Obama.
6. Initially adopted by Congress on July 2, 1776, the revised version of the Declaration of Independence was not adopted until two days later.
7. The oldest, continuous Independence Day celebration in the United States is the 4th of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island; it began in 1785.
8. The “Star Spangled Banner” was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 and not decreed the official national anthem of the United States until 1931.
9. The Pennsylvania Evening Post was the first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence.
10. Americans consume about 155 million hot dogs on Independence Day alone; it is the biggest hot dog holiday of the year.
11. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on a "laptop," which was a writing desk that could fit on one's lap.
12. The printed version of the Declaration was called the Dunlap Broadside; 200 were made but only 27 are accounted for.
13. Congress declared July 4th as an official holiday in 1870 as part of a bill to officially recognize other holidays, Christmas being one of them.
14. Several countries have used the Declaration of Independence as a beacon in their own struggles for freedom. These countries include France, Greece, Poland, Russia, and many countries in South America.
15. Contrary to popular belief, only two Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The majority of signers penned their signatures on August 2, 1776.
16. The original draft of the Declaration of Independence was lost.
17. Congress made Independence Day an official unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870. In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.
18. The average age of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence was 45. The youngest was Thomas Lynch, Jr (27) of South Carolina. The oldest delegate was Benjamin Franklin (70) of Pennsylvania. The lead author of The Declaration, Thomas Jefferson, was 33.
19. One out of eight signers of the Declaration of Independence were educated at Harvard (7 total).
20. The American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) estimates that more than 14,000 professional firework displays light up the skies in the United States each 4th of July.
Download our Small Business Investment Guide for tips on growing your business.
Sources: thepioneerwoman.com, list25.com, rfdtv.com, academicexchange.wordpress.com, northeastern.edu, wallethub.com, businessinsider.com
