Vintage Teacher: Fourth of July Facts and Trivia

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Fourth of July Facts and Trivia

As fireworks are exploding in anticipation of the 4th, let us not forget the brave people who signed and fought for our independence and those who have lost their lives defending it. The following is some 4th of July trivia:

· Thirty places in the United States have "liberty" in their names. Liberty, Missouri has the highest population of the thirty.

· Iowa has more places with places with "liberty" than any other state at four: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty, and West Liberty.

· Eleven places have "independence" in their name. The largest of these is Independence, Missouri.

· Five places adopted the name "freedom." Freedom, California has the largest population of these places.

· There is one place named "patriot"--Patriot, Indiana, with a population of 202.

· How about spending your day in one of the cities named "America"? There are five places with this name, the largest being American Fork, Utah.

· The Liberty Bell sounded at Independence Hall from the tower on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. Colonel John Nixon read the document to the crowd.

· The national flag was adopted on June 14, 1777 by the Continental Congress

· The White House held the first Fourth of July event in 1804.

· The first Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi happened at Independence Creek and was celebrated by Lewis and Clark in 1805.

· The last letter Thomas Jefferson ever wrote was to Roger C. Weightman, declining an invitation to come to Washington, D.C. to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

· The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence did not sign at the same time or on July 4, 1776. The official event did not happen until August 2, 1776.

· 4th of July was not declared a holiday until 1941.

· Over an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be eaten on July 4. That is approximately 1 hot dog for every two people in the United States.

· John Hancock was the only person to actually sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

· The youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence was 26-year-old Edward Rutledge.

· The oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence was Benjamin Franklin at the age of 70.

· Bristol, Rhode Island has the oldest , continuous 4th of July celebration. This celebration dates back to 1785.

· Three U.S. presidents have died on July 4th. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Five years later, James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.

· Calvin Coolidge is the only U.S. president born on the 4th of July. He was born in 1872.

Dumb jokes for the kids:

Q; What's the difference between a duck and George Washington?

A: One has a bill on his face, and the other has face on a bill.

Q: Do they have a 4th of July in England?

A: Of course they do. That is how they get from the 3rd of July to the 5th.

Q: Why did the duck say bang?

A: Because he was a firequacker.

Q: What did one flag say to the other?

A: Nothing, it just waved.

Sources of information:

http://www.chiff.com/a/fun-facts-fourth.htm