As a certified news junkie and curious-to-a-fault type, I always enjoy reading lists of interesting facts about, well, pretty much anything. So this morning, I found myself  wondering whether there are any interesting facts related to the 4th of July holiday.

There are.

The least interesting of these is that July 4, 1976 was supposed to be my birthday. I was a week late, though, and now every year for 34 years and counting, my parents have never forgotten to remind me about that barbecue they missed because of me. Luckily, our forefathers were much more punctual. Maybe George Washington had Johnsonville brats.

Anyway, here we go, courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau:

• 2.5 million: The estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation in July 1776. This year, the number is 309.6 million.
• $3 million: The dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags in 2009 — the vast majority of this amount
  ($2.5 million) was for U.S. flags made in China. I wonder how many Chinese flags we export to China each year? Interestingly, the Census Bureau didn’t provide a number for that. They did, however, reveal that the United States exported $920,277 worth of U.S. flags in 2009. Mexico was the leading customer, purchasing $333,882 worth.
• $209 million: The value of fireworks imported from China in 2009, representing the bulk of all U.S. fireworks imported ($217 million). U.S. exports of fireworks, by comparison, came to just $42.9 million in 2009, with the United Arab Emirates purchasing more than any other country ($14.5 million).
• $331.4 million: The value of U.S. manufacturers’ shipments of fireworks and pyrotechnics (including flares, igniters, etc.) in 2007.
• 138: Ranking of the frequency of the surname of our first president, George Washington, among all last names tabulated in the 2000 Census. Other early presidential names that appear on the list, along with their ranking, were Adams (39), Jefferson (594), Madison (1,209) and Monroe (567).
• More than 1 in 4: The chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on July 4 originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 18.9 million hogs and pigs on March 1, 2010 (I’m guessing most of them have “passed on” at this point). This represents more than one-fourth of the nation’s total. North Carolina (9.1 million) and Minnesota (7.2 million) were the runners-up.
• About 1 in 3: The odds that your side dish of baked beans originated from North Dakota, which produced 34 percent of the nation’s dry, edible beans in 2009. Another popular July 4 side dish is corn on the cob. Florida, California, Georgia, Washington and New York together accounted for 66 percent of the fresh market sweet corn produced nationally in 2009.

So there you go. Eat up, stay safe and Happy 4th of July from Coles Marketing!

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