Fireworks and freedom: That’s what America does on the Fourth of July to celebrate the nation’s birthday, which was established with the pen strokes of 56 founding fathers on the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Plus, we eat a whole lot of hotdogs: 150 million in total. We make a toast or two to good old Uncle Sam, shelling out more than $1.6 billion on July Fourth beer and wine. And we travel, with a record 44 million of us planning to venture 50+ miles from home this year.
While 2017 marks America’s 242nd birthday, there’s still a lot that we all can learn about Independence Day. To help fill you in and pump up your patriotism, WalletHub put together an awesome infographic filled with fun facts about this red, white and blue anniversary. They also polled a panel of leading American-studies experts for some added insight. You can check it out below.
| Best Cities to Celebrate Fourth of July |
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| 1 | Atlanta, GA |
| 11 | Minneapolis, MN |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA |
| 12 | New Orleans, LA |
| 3 | Buffalo, NY |
| 13 | New York, NY |
| 4 | Washington, DC |
| 14 | Los Angeles, CA |
| 5 | San Diego, CA |
| 15 | Miami, FL |
| 6 | Madison, WI |
| 16 | Boston, MA |
| 7 | St. Louis, MO |
| 17 | Albuquerque, NM |
| 8 | Milwaukee, WI |
| 18 | Cincinnati, OH |
| 9 | Orlando, FL |
| 19 | Chicago, IL |
| 10 | Seattle, WA |
| 20 | Philadelphia, PA |
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-4th-of-july-celebrations/4651/
Independence Day Facts & Figures
- $7.15 Billion: Amount Americans plan to spend on Fourth of July food.
- $1.6+ Billion: Amount we plan to spend on Fourth of July beer and wine.
- $800+ Million: Amount we’re expected to spend on fireworks (67 percent of fireworks injuries occur within a month of July 4).
- 44.2 Million: Record number of people who will travel 50+ miles from home this Fourth of July.
