Video: Facts about the 4th of July

by Lee Cloer | Jul 2, 2018

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Happy Birthday, America!!!
4th of July!

Fireworks Hotdogs and Sunburns
Kinda sounds like a country song I know…

But one thing it does mean… Independence Day!
That’s right, the 4th of July – the day we Americans celebrate our Independence from England – or as the Brits refer to it, “HAPPY TREASON DAY, you UNGRATEFUL COLONISTS!!!

Thanks to our forefathers rebelling against the King we were saved from the metric system, weird foods like blood pudding and big saucy bangers. We can celebrate not having to know the rules of cricket and never having to watch those Royal Weddings…
I mean they have guards with well-disciplined giant black cats…sitting on their heads, well that’s kinda cool…

and they drink tea…all…the…dang…time.

So the king started with his attitude toward the colonies, increasing the taxes on the colonists to pay for the French and Indian War. But the colonists were like, “hey, King Dude! Why are you messing with us, taking our dough? How about we just pour your tea into the water?” which did not make King Dude happy at all…and so on July 4th, 1776 the colonies declared their independence…which would mean war with England and the beginning of kicking the blokes out of our new country – AMERICA!

What about this Independence Day? What do you know about it? Is it just about cookouts, bad sunburns, and illegal fireworks? BANG BANG BANG!!! UGHHH it’s the cops!!! RUN!!!

This day is about the birth of our country and I’m going to share a few facts with you.

• On July 4, 1776, the American colonies were declared free and independent States from Great Britain and its king.
• Only two people actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 – John Hancock and Charles Thompson.
• Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on a “laptop” – that is, a writing desk that could fit in his lap.
• Jefferson changed the wording of the Declaration of Independence from “the pursuit of property” to “the pursuit of happiness.”
• At 27, Thomas Lynch, Jr., was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence; Ben Franklin, age 70, was the oldest.
• The Pennsylvania Evening Post was the first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence.
• Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as the national bird but he was overruled by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who recommended the bald eagle.
• Congress declared July 4th as an official holiday in 1870 as part of a bill to officially recognize other holidays, including Christmas.
• America’s oldest continuous Independence Day celebration is the 4th of July Parade in Bristol on Rhode Island which began in 1785.
• Americans take their July 4 celebrations seriously. On this day, some 150 million hot dogs will be eaten!
• Fireworks are a major part of the celebrations because the first Independence Day celebration on July 4, 1777, saw Americans gathering to watch as the sky illuminated to celebrate the new nation.

Here’s to the Home of the Free Because of the Brave. RED WHITE AND BLUE! George Washington! Bacon! Merica!

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