250 — Years since the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. This year’s celebration marks America’s semiquincentennial — if you can pronounce it.
56 — Men who signed the Declaration. The oldest was Benjamin Franklin, 70. The youngest, South Carolina’s Edward Rutledge, was 26.
2.5 million — Estimated population of the 13 colonies in July 1776. The U.S. population today is roughly 340 million — about 136 times larger.
150 million — Hot dogs Americans are expected to eat on the Fourth, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. That’s enough to stretch from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles more than five times.
$12.6 billion — What Americans spent on food and beverages for last year’s Fourth of July celebrations, by one industry estimate — an average of more than $92 per adult.
Nearly $3 billion — Approximate annual American spending on fireworks, according to industry figures. The American Pyrotechnics Association says the U.S. imports more than 300 million pounds of fireworks each year, the vast majority from China.
Two — Future presidents who signed the Declaration: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Both died on July 4, 1826 — the document’s 50th anniversary.
One — President born on the Fourth of July: Calvin Coolidge, in 1872.
8 days — Time it took for the Declaration to be read publicly in New York, where on July 9, 1776, a crowd celebrated by pulling down a statue of King George III. Much of the lead statue was later melted into musket balls for the Continental Army.
Zero — Signatures actually placed on the Declaration on July 4. Most delegates signed the engrossed parchment copy on Aug. 2, 1776 — a detail that has never stopped anyone from celebrating on the Fourth.
