1. Thomas Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence. There were four others on the drafting committee: Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Robert Livingston.
2. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826 – on the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence. James Monroe died five years later on July 4, 1831.
3. At 2pm every Fourth of July, descendants of people who signed the Declaration of Independence tap the bell 13 times in honor of the original 13 colonies.
4. Calvin Coolidge was the only president born on the 4th of July.
5. It became a federal holiday in 1870, nearly 100 years after the signing.
6. Americans eat around 150 million hot dogs each Independence Day. That means 818 are being consumed every second!