10 Things To Know About The Fourth of July

Needless to say, today is a day of great celebration in America's history. Today is actually America's 235th birthday.

Westwood, meanwhile, was first settled in 1640 as part of Dedham, and was officially incorporated on March 8, 1897, making the town more than 114 years old.

To stay within the theme of historical note, here are 10 interesting facts about Independence Day for our Westwood readers. Enjoy!

1. There is more than a one-in-four chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on the Fourth of July originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 19 million hogs and pigs on March 1, 2011; the estimate represents more than one-fourth of the nation’s estimated total. 
   Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
2. About $190.7 million in fireworks were imported from China in 2010, representing the bulk of all U.S. fireworks imported ($197.3 million). U.S. exports of fireworks, meanwhile, only came to $37 million in 2010, with Japan purchasing $6.3 million, more than any other country.
   Source: Foreign Trade Statistics
3. There is an estimated value of about $302.7 million in shipments of fabricated flags, banners and similar emblems by the nation's manufacturers, according to the latest published economic census data.
   Source: 2007 Economic Census, Series EC0731SP1, Products and Services Code 3149998231
4. The dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags was $3.2 million. About $2.8 million of that was for U.S. flags made in China. 
   Source: Foreign Trade Statistics
5. In July 1776, it's estimated that about 2.5 million people were living in the newly-independent America.
   Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970
6. America's estimated population as of this Fourth of July is about 311.7 million people.
   Source: Population clock
7. There are 11 places in the country that have "independence" in their names, the most populous being Independence, Missouri at 116,830 people.
   Source: American FactFinder
8. Only one place in America exists with "Patriot" in the name, with a mere population of 209 people!
   Source: American FactFinder
9. Odds are more than one in three that a side dish of baked beans eaten in a July 4th meal today originated from North Dakota, which produced 36 percent of the country's dry, edible beans in 2010. (Another popular holiday side dish is corn on the cob; Florida, California, Georgia, Washington and New York together accounted for 68 percent of the fresh market sweet corn produced nationally in 2010.)
   Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
10. About 81 million Americans said they have taken part in a barbecue last year, meaning many of those events likely took place on Independence Day.
    Source: Mediamark Research & Intelligence, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011