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10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Fourth of July

The holiday to celebrate American Independence is about more than flags and fireworks.

How Many Hot Dogs Will We Eat?

By Eliana DocktermanJuly 03, 20120

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Americans eat a lot of hot dogs—20 billion per year, to be exact. That’s an average of 70 hot dogs per person. But Americans consume more hot dogs on July 4^th than on any other day of the year: according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, 155 million hot dogs will be consumed on July 4^th alone. That’s enough to stretch from L.A. to D.C. five times, with hot dogs left over. In the past, Iowa has consumed the most hot dogs on July 4^th. One fourth of all of Iowa’s citizens ate hot dogs on Independence Day 2008.

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7 comments

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lisalemink

As far as John Adams going to his grave refusing to participate in the 4th celebrations, that's only slightly true. He and Jefferson were both invited to

Washington DC for the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on

July 4, 1826 but both declined due to poor health. As it happened, both died that

day only hours apart.

John Adams actually wrote a 'notorious' letter to Abigail after the Continental Congress approved the Declaration and stated that ... "It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other..."

C.Congress approved the D of I on July 2, it hit the newspapers on July 4 and wasn't completely signed until August.

beiju412

tinyurl.com/cozaa3k

Wiliam Newman

"

10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Fourth of July "

Where's the other nine ?

breindrein

Now thats a way to pic up chics at a bar. "Hey baby, I'm the vice-president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. Show me favors and I can get you into the big time"

Cane Pazzo

Adams and Jefferson did not die simultaneously. Jefferson died several hours before Adams.

LevonTostig

There are a whole lot of things Americans don't know about Independence Day - in particular, that we gained independence from a tyrannical, overbearing, nanny-state government. Thank our unionized history teachers for that.

Some people simply long to have a king to prostrate themselves to. They wanted it with Kennedy, they want it with Obama.Those people don't belong here.

f_galton

Speaking of hot dogs, when we were at Yale I gave Eliana Dockterman a large wiener.