This weekend, millions of Americans will celebrate the nation's Independence Day.
The Second Continental Congress voted to become independent from Great Britain on July 2, 1776, and approved the Declaration of Independence two days later. John Adams wrote to his wife at the time that the second should be celebrated "with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."
Though the holiday has come to be celebrated on the fourth, Adams should be impressed by the sheer amount of pomp and parade that marks the occasion every year. Or at least by the number of hot dogs we eat that day.
In honor of Independence Day (no, not that one), Mashable is counting down everything you should know about the Fourth of July.
41 million travelers
About 41 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from their home between July 2 and July 6, according to AAA Travel.
That is a 1.9% increase from 2013, probably boosted by July Fourth falling on a Friday giving more people a three-day weekend.
34.8 million road trippers
A whopping 85% of people traveling for the Fourth will be using their cars.
Gas currently costs $3.70, up about 21 cents from the same time last year, making the cost of an average 200-mile trip about $1.15 more.
3.1 million flight passengers
While airfares have decreased, plane travel for the Fourth of July holiday is also expected to decrease, from 3.12 million travelers in 2013 to 3.1 million this year.
According to AAA Travel, airfares are about 5% lower than last year, while car rental rates remain about the same, at $58 per day for the weekend.
The busiest airports this holiday weekend, according to travel data company Hopper, will be Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Atlanta (ATL), Chicago (ORD), Denver (DEN), Newark (EWR), New York (LGA), Orlando (MCO), San Francisco (SFO) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW). Be sure to give yourself a little more time for getting through the airport if you are traveling this weekend. (Not to mention there could also be weather-related delays.)
15,000 fireworks shows
This year, 15,000 fireworks displays will light up the skies nationwide on the Fourth of July, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association (APA).
213 million lbs. of fireworks
The professional shows include only about 10% of the total fireworks sold each year. The APA also states that 213 million pounds of fireworks are sold annually.
155 million hot dogs
Independence Day is the biggest hot dog holiday (if you rank holidays by foods) of the year: According to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, more than 155 million will be eaten on the holiday.
Beef is popular on the holiday. Memorial Day is the day with the most beef eaten by Americans, but July 4th ties for second with Labor Day, according to Purdue University.
10 minutes in hot dog heaven
Nathan's Famous in Coney Island, New York, has an annual
Even though Nathan's is promoting this year's contest as the 98th, the supposed date of the first hot dog eating contest is mere propaganda. Mortimer Matz, a well-known promoter, was responsible for starting the legend that four immigrants challenged each other to eat the most hot dogs to prove who was most patriotic in 1916. But the contest actually began in 1972.
Last year, Joey Chestnut set the all-time record, downing 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes:
A few brave souls will try to top that record this year.
54 years of 50 stars
The design of the current fifty-star American flag was chosen in 1960, after Hawaii gained statehood in 1959. In 2007, the design became the longest one in use in the history of the country.
The 50-star flag was designed by Ohio resident Bob Heft, who was 17 when he used his grandmother's sewing machine to make it for a high school class project. His teacher originally gave him a B-, but revised the grade to an A when Eisenhower chose the design as the national symbol.