Here is a brief excerpt from Jason Serafino‘s superb article published by Dental Floss (June 12, 2024). To read the complete article and check out others, please click here.
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The Fourth of July is packed with backyard barbecues and plenty of fireworks. With more than 200 years of history and tradition behind it, you’d be forgiven if you didn’t know everything about America’s Independence Day. From the true story behind the signing of the Declaration of Independence to some staggering hot dog statistics, here are 10 things you might not know about the Fourth of July.
- The Declaration of Independence wasn’t signed on July 4 (or in July at all).
- The first Fourth of July celebrations weren’t much different from today’s.
- Eating salmon on the Fourth of July is a tradition in New England.
- Massachusetts was the first state to recognize the Fourth of July.
- The oldest annual Fourth of July celebration is held in Bristol, Rhode Island.
- The shortest Fourth of July parade is in Aptos, California.
- There are around 15,000 Independence Day fireworks celebrations every year.
- Americans eat an obscene number of hot dogs on the Fourth of July.
- Americans also spend billions on food to celebrate the Fourth of July.
- Three presidents have died, and one was born, on the Fourth of July.
The Declaration of Independence wasn’t signed on July 4 (or in July at all).
It might make for an iconic painting, but that famous image of all the Founding Fathers and Continental Congress huddled together, presenting the first draft of the Declaration of Independence for a July 4, 1776, signing isn’t quite how things really went down. As historian David McCullough wrote, “No such scene, with all the delegates present, ever occurred at Philadelphia.”
It’s now generally accepted that the Declaration of Independence wasn’t signed on the Fourth of July—that’s just the day the document was formally dated, finalized, and adopted by the Continental Congress, which had officially voted for independence on July 2 (the day John Adams thought we should celebrate). John Hancock and Charles Thomson signed early printed copies of the Declaration to be given to military officers and various political committees, but the bulk of the other 54 men signed an official engrossed (finalized and in larger print) copy on August 2, with others following at a later date. Hancock (boldly) signed his name again on the updated version.
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Here is a direct link to the complete article.