HOLIDAY QUIZ: How well do you know your American history? With
Independence Day just a day away, we’ll find out with a patriotic
quiz. (Answers are immediately below so you might want to cover it
with your hand.)[neWLine]

1. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?[neWLine]

2. Who was the first to sign the Declaration of
Independence?[neWLine]

3. Where was the document signed?[neWLine]

4. What are the first seven words of the Declaration of
Independence?[neWLine]

5. In what decade was the Fourth of July made a legal
holiday?[neWLine]

6. What great American song was set to the tune of an English
drinking song?[neWLine]

7. During what war did the “”Uncle Sam”” character first
appear?[neWLine]

8. True or False. The Liberty Bell only rang once before it
cracked.[neWLine]

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ANSWERS: 1. Thomas Jefferson, although it was revised by John
Adams and Benjamin Franklin, along with Jefferson; 2. John Hancock;
3. Philadelphia; 4. “”When in the course of human events …””; 5.
The 1940s – 1941 to be exact;[neWLine]

6. “”The Star-Spangled Banner,”” the melody of which is taken
from the song “”To Anacreon in Heaven””; 7. The War of 1812.
Congress did not adopt him as a national symbol until 1961; 8.
False. The third version of the bell (the first two were defective
and had to be melted down and recast) rang every Fourth of July
from 1778 to 1835, the year it cracked.[neWLine]

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4th FACTS: Here’s some other facts to help you brush up on your
American history. How many people lived in the colonies in July
1776? How many people live in the United States now?[neWLine]

The answer to the first question is 2.5 million people. And as
for the second answer, we’re rapidly closing in on 300 million
people – a major milestone. Of this number, 12 percent are
foreign-born residents.[neWLine]

These figures come courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau Web site,
which, each year, provides facts geared around the Independence Day
holiday.[neWLine]

Here are some others: Americans are predicted to eat 150 million
hot dogs on this holiday (that’s one for every two
people).[neWLine]

This most American of holidays imports most of its fireworks –
$211 million worth – from China. The U.S. also imports $5.5 million
worth of American flags – $5 million of which are also made in
China.