• 160 million Americans will celebrate July 4th with a cookout or picnic.
• 115 million will attend a local fireworks display or community celebration.
• 48 million will purchase patriotic merchandise; 35 million will attend a parade.
• $302.7 million: Dollar value of American flags, banners and similar emblems manufactured annually in the U.S.
• $223.6 million: Amount spent annually in the U.S. on fireworks imported from China.
• $32.40: Average amount spent on July 4th cookout food items to feed 10 people.
• 35: Number of American towns or cities containing the word “eagle”; 11 contain the word “independence”; 9 contain the word “freedom.”
• $1.7 billion: amount Americans spend on hot dogs annually.
• Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York, Baltimore/Washington and Chicago are the nation’s top hot dog-consuming cities.
(Sources: Data released for July 4, 2012, by the U.S. Census Department., the National Retail Federation, the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, Indiana Farm Bureau)
• Happy Fourth of July, and thanks for reading Inside the Beltway.
To read Jennifer Harper’s Inside the Beltway columns, click here. Contact her at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
