The Daily Recruiter

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.

Some “Fun Facts” about the 4th of July:

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://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html

307 million
The nation’s population on this July Fourth.
Source: Population clock http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

About 4 in 10
The odds that your side dish of baked beans originated from North Dakota, which produced 39 percent of the nation’s dry, edible beans in 2008. Another popular Fourth of July side dish is corn on the cob. Florida, California, Georgia and New York together accounted for 61 percent of the sweet corn produced nationally in 2008.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov

Please Pass the Potato Salad
Potato salad and potato chips are popular food items at Fourth of July barbecues. Half of the nation’s spuds were produced in Idaho or Washington state in 2008.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov

More than three-fourths
Amount of the nation’s head lettuce production in 2008 that came from California. This lettuce may end up in your salad or on your burger.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov

More than 7 in 10
The chances that the fresh tomatoes in your salad came from California or Florida, which combined accounted for 71 percent of U.S. tomato production last year. The ketchup on your burger or hot dog probably came from California, which accounted for 96 percent of forecasted processed tomato production in 2008.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov

Florida
The state that led the nation in watermelon production last year (861 million pounds). Other leading producers of this popular fruit included California, Texas and Georgia, each with more than 500 million pounds.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov

Flags
$3.4 million
In 2008, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags. The vast majority of this amount ($3.0 million) was for U.S. flags made in China.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/

$569,400
Dollar value of U.S. flags exported in 2008. Belgium was the leading customer, purchasing $186,400 worth.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/

Patriotic-Sounding Names
31
Number of places nationwide with “liberty” in their name. The most populous one as of July 1, 2007, is Liberty, Mo. (29,993). Iowa, with four, has more of these places than any other state: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.

• Thirty-one places have “eagle” in their name — after the majestic bird that serves as our national symbol. (Places include cities, towns, villages and census-designated places.) The most populous such place is Eagle Pass, Texas, with 26,285 residents.
• Eleven places have “independence” in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Mo., with 110,704 residents.
• Five places adopted the name “freedom.” Freedom, Calif., with 6,000 residents, has the largest population among these.
• There is one place named “patriot” — Patriot, Ind., with a population of 190.
• And what could be more fitting than spending the Fourth of July in a place called “America”? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, population 26,472.
Source: Population estimates http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/013696.html and
American FactFinder www.census.gov