The First Independence Day Was Celebrated On July 8th?

And now some interesting facts about the 4th of July so that if the conversation lulls during your BBQ or get together you can pull out this info and sound like the genius that you are. 

The population of the new United States in 1776 was about 2.5 million when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

We import $2.5 million worth of U.S. flag items from China, and $500,000 worth from other countries.  But we make more than $300 million worth of flag related stuff here at home.

We export more than $900,000 worth of U.S. flags to other countries. As a matter of fact, one third of them go to Mexico.

We buy $209 million worth of fireworks from China, $8 million from the rest of the world, and we make $331 million worth at home.

Only one in four Americans has taken part in a barbeque in the past year. 76 million of us have been to one.  The U.S. population is just over 300 million.

All U.S. military bases hold a 50-gun salute at noon on Independence Day. They fire one gun for each state in the union.

Washington is the second most popular president's name.  It's 138th among all last names.  Adams, at 39th overall, is the most popular.  And Monroe, Jefferson, and Madison round out the top five.

You might have heard that the first person born an American, on July 4th, 1776, was an identical twin, born seven minutes before her sister. While that might be true, there are no records of who the first American was.  The first person born here to European parents was a Viking named Snorri 700 years earlier.  And Virginia Dare was the first person born in the British colonies, in 1587.

The first Independence Day was celebrated on July 8th. It was celebrated it in Philadelphia on July 8th, 1776, four days after the Declaration of Independence was approved.  The celebration included ringing the Liberty Bell, and the first public reading of the Declaration.

One in five signers of the Declaration of Independence underlined their name.  Twelve of the 56 signers did, including John Hancock and Ben Franklin.  And one guy signed his name "Charles Carroll of Carrollton".

Source: Wise Brothers Media