Fourth Of July Fun Facts 10 Things You Probably Didnt Know About ...

The Fourth of July The day Americans celebrate their country's independence.

It's a day you probably know well and one that you anticipate with pleasure but there are probably a lot of fun facts about the nation's birthday that you aren't familiar with.

So as you wait for Thursday's barbecues fireworks and unabashed noshing on hot dogs click through this slideshow of 10 interesting facts about July 4.

Who knows You may even pick up a tidbit or two to share with your pals around the grill on the big day.

Loading Slideshow Happy 2nd of July

Author Kenneth C. Davis has revealed that the a href http //www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/independence day july 2_n_3535004.html target _blank 2nd of July may actually be the more appropriate date to mark the nation's special day/a. The fact is that John Adams wrote home to Abigail on the 3rd that this day July 2nd will go down in history Davis said a href http //www.cbsnews.com/2300 505263_162 10017385.html target _blank during an appearance on CBS This Morning. /a We'll celebrate it with parades and pomp and bells ringing and fireworks and it was because Congress actually ruled it in favor of independence on July 2. But it was two days later of course that Congress then accepted Jefferson's declaration explaining the vote two days before that really got fixed in the America's imagination as our birthday. July 2nd should be Independence Day.

R.I.P Founding Fathers

In a bizarre though perhaps apt twist of fate both Thomas Jefferson (right) emand/em John Adams died on July 4 1826. The publication of the Declaration of Independence may have accidentally made the Fourth of July the official day of independence for America but the a href http //thefw.com/things about fourth of july/ target _blank deaths of two of its founders cemented its creation of the date s designation/a wrote the FW's Danny Gallagher in a post commemorating Independence Day last year.

Happy Filipino Rwandan Independence Day too

July 4 marks a day of liberation in both the Philippines and Rwanda. In the Southeast Asian nation July 4 known as Republic Day marks the date when the United States officially recognized the Philippines as an independent state in 1946. (However though the day is still significant to Filipino history a href http //www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/the one other country that celebrates the fourth of july sort of/259410/ target _blank June 12 has been the country's official Independence Day since 1962/a.) Rwandans on the other hand celebrate Liberation Day on July 4. According to a a href http //kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/happy liberation day rwanda/ _r 0 target _blank 2008 post for the New York Times by blogger Josh Ruxin/a the date marks the 1994 end of the Rwandan Genocide and the birth of the new government that rose from the ashes. (Video from Rwanda's 2009 Liberation Day celebration was captured by NTV Kenya.)

Holiday Shmoliday

Americans began observing the Fourth of July as early as 1777 when the first ever major celebration in Philadelphia included a parade a thirteen shot cannon salute and fireworks buta href http //newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/04/10 things you didnt know about the fourth of july/slide/the fourth became a national holiday 1870/ target _blank Congress didn t make it official until 1870 when it was part of a bill passed to recognize major state holidays at a federal level/a like Independence Day Christmas and New Year s Day according to TIME magazine.

Birthday Celebrations Abound

a href http //learning.blogs.nytimes.com/on this day/July 4/ target _blank Calvin Coolidge the country's 30th president was born on Independence Day/a. Others celebrating birthdays on July Fourth include Nobel laureate and economist Gerard Debreu Olympic gold medalist and tennis Hall of Famer Pam Shriver Ugly Betty actress Becki Newton anda href http //www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/malia obama birthday_n_1647688.html target _blank current first daughter Malia Obama/a (pictured here with mom Michelle in January.)

Hot Dogs Galore

July Fourth is the a href http //newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/04/10 things you didnt know about the fourth of july/slide/how many hot dogs will we eat/ target _blank biggest hot dog holiday of the year/a according to TIME magazine with Americans reportedly consuming about 155 million of them on Independence Day alone. But despite a nationwide love for the salty snack no one really knows where the hot dog came from. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council it is a href http //www.hot dog.org/ht/d/sp/i/38594/pid/38594 target _blank likely that the North American hot dog comes from a widespread common European sausage brought here by butchers of several nationalities/a. The meaty treat's origin story remains murky however.

Turtle Soup Anyone

Though hot dogs french fries and barbecued treats are typical Fourth of July fare nowadays our Founding Fathers a href http //www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/03/july 4th food history_n_3541572.html utm_hp_ref fourth of july target _blank feasted on some pretty different foods to celebrate the country's independence back in the day/a. According to legend on July 4 1776 John Adams and his wife Abigail a href http //www.delish.com/food/recalls reviews/fourth of july historical menu turtle soup target _blank sat down for a celebratory meal of turtle soup New England poached salmon with egg sauce green peas and boiled new potatoes in jackets/a. They followed the meal with Indian pudding or Apple Pandowdy wrote Justine Sterling for Delish.com in 2011.

The State Of Independence

Is Pennsylvania the country's most patriotic state According to the U.S. Census Bureau the so called State of Independence where the Declaration of Independence was debated and signed is a href http //www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb13 ff14.html target _blank home to 11 places with the word liberty in their name and 33 with the word union in them/a leading the country for the number of places with such names. (Only one place in the nation has patriot in its name according to the bureau. Patriot Ind. is said to have an estimated population of 209.)

American Bald... Turkey

In a a href http //www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/franklin newrepublic.html 29 target _blank letter to his daughter Sarah Bache in 1784/a Benjamin Franklin wrote that he was displeased that the bald eagle had been chosen as the symbol for the nation. He is a a href http //interviewangel.com/17 fun facts about the fourth of july/ target _blank Bird of bad moral character. He does not get his Living honestly/a he wrote. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River where too lazy to fish for himself he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk. A turkey Franklin went on to argue is a far more respectable bird. Turk'y is a true original Native of America Franklin wrote. He is besides though a little vain silly a Bird of Courage and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.

Tap Tap Tap

Due to a href http //www.nps.gov/inde/liberty bell center.htm target _blank concerns about cracking the iconic instrument/a the Liberty Bell has not been rung since 1846. Instead every year to mark the Fourth of July the 2 000 pound bell is a href http //www.uwishunu.com/2009/07/the tapping of the liberty bell how sweet the sound/ target _blank tapped 13 times to signal for bells across the country to start ringing/a.

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