The long holiday weekend has us wondering about some of the customs that accompany the Fourth of July.
Here are some points to ponder as you celebrate.
1. Have a hot dog … Have you ever wondered why wieners are sold in packs of 10, while buns come in packs of eight? The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council says wiener makers settled on 10 to a pack in the 1940s. Meanwhile, bakers were creating buns in pans designed to hold eight. The disparate numbers have remained the standard – with little apparent negative effect on hot dogs’ popularity. Americans will enjoy more than 150 million hot dogs at their Fourth of July picnics, according to Insider magazine.
2. Or a hamburger. Last year, USA Today reported that Americans consume about 375 million hamburgers for the Fourth. And if you take yours with cheese, you know that the cheese goes on top of the burger, right? That’s the way most people build a cheeseburger, according to a survey of 1,000 people from coast to coast, reported by furniture and appliance maker RTA Outdoor Living, but the results were not unanimous. The survey found that 15% put their cheese under the burger.
3. Shoot your fireworks. Americans flock to fireworks shows to end their Fourth of July celebrations. According to History.com, the earliest reported celebrations, in 1776, involved cannons, muskets, bonfires and even mock funeral services for King George III, from whom America had just declared its independence. Fireworks marked the observance the next year, and have been going strong more than 200 years. The American Pyrotechnics Association reports that 385.8 million pounds of consumer fireworks were purchased last year, compared to 248.9 million pounds in 2019. That 55% increase is attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. As organized shows were canceled, consumers purchased unprecedented amounts of fireworks to shoot off at home, resulting in a shortage of consumer-grade fireworks this year.