USA Flag Rug

Description

Happy Fourth of July

If you clicked through to this link, you found our July 4th Egg (kind of like an Easter Egg). Your love of our flag earned you a 10% off coupon code good through July 5th. 

Your code is july4th for 10% off 

Here are 10 key facts about the history, traditions, and unexpected quirks of the Fourth of July:

• Independence was actually voted on July 2: The Second Continental Congress officially voted to separate from Great Britain on July 2, 1776. July 4 is celebrated because it was the day Congress formally adopted the final written text of the Declaration of Independence.

• Most Founding Fathers didn't sign on the Fourth: Only John Hancock (President of the Continental Congress) and Charles Thomson (Secretary) signed the document on July 4. The vast majority of the 56 delegates didn't ink their signatures until August 2, 1776, and some signed even later.

• Three U.S. Presidents died on the holiday: In a bizarre historical coincidence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826—the exact 50th anniversary of the Declaration. James Monroe, the fifth president, also died on the Fourth of July five years later, in 1831.

• Only one President was born on July 4: Calvin Coolidge is the sole U.S. president with an Independence Day birthday, born on July 4, 1872.

• It didn't become a federal holiday immediately: For nearly a century, Independence Day was celebrated informally. Congress didn't make it an official, unpaid federal holiday until 1870. It wasn't changed to a paid federal holiday for government employees until 1938.

• The first fireworks display was in 1777: Philadelphia hosted the very first official anniversary celebration on July 4, 1777, lighting up the night sky with a 13-gun salute and a fireworks display authorized by Congress.

• The 50-star flag was designed by a teenager: In 1958, 17-year-old Robert Heft designed the current American flag for a high school history project, anticipating the statehood of Alaska and Hawaii. His teacher gave him a B-minus. Heft sent the design to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who ultimately selected it, prompting the teacher to change the grade to an A.

• The Liberty Bell hasn't actually rung since 1846: The iconic bell suffered a major, irreparable crack while tolling for George Washington’s birthday in 1846 and hasn't been swung since. Instead, every Fourth of July, descendants of the signers gently tap the bell 13 times to honor the original colonies.

• America consumes 150 million hot dogs on this day: According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, the Fourth of July is the biggest hot dog consumption day of the entire year. Lined up end-to-end, 150 million hot dogs would stretch from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles more than two times.

• The largest celebration outside the U.S. is in Denmark: Every year since 1912, thousands of Danes and Danish-Americans gather at Rebild National Park in Denmark to celebrate American Independence Day as a tribute to the country that welcomed hundreds of thousands of Danish immigrants.