The Fourth of July 2012
1. On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.
2 2.5 million -In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation.
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970 <http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/HistoricalStatisticsoftheUnitedStates1789-1945.pdf>
3 13.9 million -The nation’s estimated population on this July Fourth.
So urce: Population clock <http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html>
4 $3.6 million
In 2011, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags. The vast majority of this amount ($3.3 million) was for U.S. flags made in China.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/> <http://www.usatradeonline.gov>
5 $663,071
Dollar value of U.S. flags exported in 2011. Mexico was the leading customer, purchasing $80,349 worth.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/> <http://www.usatradeonline.gov>
6 $302.7 million
Dollar value of shipments of fabricated flags, banners and similar emblems by the nation’s manufacturers in 2007, according to the latest published economic census statistics.
Source: 2007 Economic Census, Series EC0731SP1, Products and Services Code 3149998231 <http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/>
7 $232.3 million
The value of fireworks imported from China in 2011, representing the bulk of all U.S. fireworks imported ($223.4 million). U.S. exports of fireworks, by comparison, came to just $15.8 million in 2011, with Australia purchasing more than any other country ($4.5 million).
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www> <http://www.usatradeonline.gov>
8 $231.8 million
The value of U.S. manufacturers’ shipments of fireworks and pyrotechnics (including flares, igniters, etc.) in 2007.
Source: 2007 Economic Census, Series EC0731SP1, Products and Services Code 325998J108 <http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/>
9 Thirty-one places have “liberty” in their names. The most populous one as of April 1, 2010, was Liberty, Mo. (29,149). Iowa, with four, has more of these places than any other state: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.
Thirty-five places have “eagle” in their names. The most populous one is Eagle Pass, Texas, with a population of 26,248.
10 Eleven places have “independence” in their names. The most populous one is Independence, Mo., with a population of 116,830.
Nine places have “freedom” in their names. The most populous one is New Freedom, Pa., with a population of 4,464.
One place has “patriot” in its name. Patriot, Ind., has a population of 209.
Five places have “America” in their names. The most populous is American Fork, Utah, with a population of 26,263.
Source: American FactFinder <http://www.census.gov>
11 138 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).
Source: Census 2000 Genealogy <http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/freqnames2k.html>
12 $107.1 billion
Dollar value of trade last year between the United States and the United Kingdom, making the British, our adversary in 1776, our sixth-leading trading partner today.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/top/top1112yr.html#total>
13 Almost 1 in 3
The chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on the Fourth of July originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 19.7 million hogs and pigs on March 1, 2012. This estimate represents almost one-third of the nation’s estimated total. North Carolina (8.6 million) and Minnesota (7.6 million) were also homes to large numbers of pigs.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, <http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/HogsPigs/HogsPigs-03-30-2012.pdf>
7.2 billion pounds
Total production of cattle and calves in Texas in 2011. Chances are good that the beef hot dogs, steaks and burgers on your backyard grill came from the Lone Star State, which accounted for about one-sixth of the nation’s total production. And if the beef did not come from Texas, it very well may have come from Nebraska (4.6 billion pounds) or Kansas (4.0 billion pounds).
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/MeatAnimPr/MeatAnimPr-04-26-2012.pdf>
It certainly says something that our Independence Day celebration materials mostly come from out of the nation. Definitely not Made in the USA.
Good facts!
Sadly, many communities across the country are having to cancel or postpone 4th of July fireworks this year due to dry conditions or extreme flooding. Though we are at a deficit for rain here and have had numerous grass fires spring up, so far I have only heard of one town postponing fireworks until September. Other communities have issued a ban on open burning (including camp fires) and consumer fireworks, and encourage people to grill safely.
My Thursday Thirteen
WHAT ?!!? Nobody wants to buy our flag?!? Huh. Go figure.
Happy 4th of July!
About the 4th of July–
The funnest fact is that it’s on Wednesday– do we get the whole week off or just the first/second half of the week?
I can’t get over the fact that our flags were made elsewhere. I never thought about it before, but a flag “Made in China” just seems wrong.