The United States has come a long way since the original 13 colonies declared their independence back in 1776. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence.
From a Few Million to Hundreds of Millions
Only 2.5 million people were estimated as living in the new nation that year. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that almost 329.8 million people live in the United States. That’s 130 times more people, but it is more than 240 years later.
Only men signed the Declaration of Independence – 56 of them. (We’ve had a few social advances since then, thank goodness.) The representatives for Georgia, Izenda’s home state, included Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall and George Walton. While Button County sounds good to me, they named it Gwinnett. And Georgia was named for King George, not George Walton.
China Helps U.S. Celebrate Independence
Issues such as taxation without representation got all the attention back then from these property owning historical figures, but today the Fourth of July seems more centered on having a day off from work for adults and fireworks for everybody. In 2017, the United States imported $296.2 million worth of fireworks from China. The value of fireworks exported form the United States only hit $10 million.
Speaking of trade, the value of trade between the United States and its former “oppressor”, the United Kingdom, totaled $132 billion in 2019. That makes our Revolutionary War adversary our seventh-leading trading partner of today.
Keep Safe When Handling Fireworks
But back to those fireworks. I think we all know the dangers involved. It’s worth repeating them, though.
In 2018, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 9,100 people for fireworks related injuries, according to information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2018 Fireworks Annual Report. They also reported that 56 percent of those injuries were to the extremities, with 34 percent to the head. Keep an eye on the kids: children younger than 15 accounted for most of the estimated injuries.
One of the most dangerous piece of fireworks you can let your child wave around is the sparkler. Would you hand your child a burning torch to wave around the backyard? It’s definitely not as hot. A sparkler burns at 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. If your torch is just wood without any accelerant like oil, it “only” burning at 575 degrees. Boiling water can cause serious burns instantly if you even drip it on your skin, but at 212 degrees boiling water is almost 1,000 degrees cooler than a sparkler. One quarter of all fireworks injuries each year tends to get blamed on sparklers.
With all the fire produced by fireworks (it’s even in the name), it should come as no surprise that fireworks cause a lot of fires. They start an average of 18,500 fires per year. Of course some person should get the real blame for the 1,300 structure fires, 300 vehicle fires, and 16,900 outside and other fires. Those fires rack up an average of three deaths, 40 civilian injuries and $43 million in direct property damage, according to the NFPA.
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