Fourth of July Round-Up: Only 59% of Us Know What We Were Celebrating

4th of July

Hope you had a fun and SAFE Fourth of July this year. One guy in Illinois definitely did NOT. Here’s a quick round-up of Fourth of July stories we’re seeing out there. . .

1. A 58-year-old guy in Cary, Illinois was seriously injured by a “commercially rated” firework. He was setting them off outside and thought one was a dud. So he STARED DOWN THE TUBE to see what was up, and that’s when it went off.

It hit him in the face. He was in and out of consciousness on his way to the hospital, and was in critical condition when he arrived.

2. A town in northern Michigan was planning a big firework display over a lake. But before the show, the platform they were on collapsed and fell in the water. So they had to cancel the whole thing last-minute.

3. Four apartment units in central Florida were damaged in a fire after a seven-year-old got ahold of some fireworks and set them off INSIDE. His parents had left him home alone. Luckily, no one was hurt.

4. The gas station chain Sheetz had long lines yesterday after dropping the price of its gas to under two bucks. In honor of America’s birthday in 1776, they changed their prices to 1.776 dollars.

5. Do you know what we were celebrating yesterday? Someone quizzed 2,000 Americans, and just 59% chose the right answer: “The signing of the Declaration of Independence.” Another 22% were close though. They chose “The establishment of the U.S. as an independent nation,” which is almost correct.

6. A separate poll found a third of us can’t spell the word “independence” . . . I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-C-E. Also, just 58% correctly identified the country we gained our independence from, Great Britain. 11% said “Native Americans.” (???)

7. StudyFinds.com ranked America’s most patriotic cities. Gallup, New Mexico near the Arizona border took the top spot. The rest of the top five are: Philadelphia . . . Boston . . . Bristol, Rhode Island . . . and St. Louis.

8. And in a poll on the American flag, 21% of Americans said they display one at home every single day. 5% also said they wear American flag clothing every day.