Shoe Styles in the 18th Century

Women's shoes in 1776

·        Shoes had high, curved heels

·        Made of silk fabric, worsteds, or leather.

·        Common for shoe buckles to be worn as an "ornament" to the foot in high society. These were either polished metal, usually in silver or paste stones and quite large.

Men's shoes in 1776

·        Men wore low-heeled leather shoes fastened with buckles were worn with silk or woolen stockings.

·        Boots were worn for riding, sporting and working.

·        The buckles were either polished metal, usually in silver or with paste stones.

·        Black was the most usual color.

Independence Day Facts for Trivia 

On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country. 

History of the Stars & Stripes

The Stars and Stripes originated as a result of a resolution adopted by the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia on June 14, 1777. The resolution read:

"Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation. "

Fireworks

STATES THAT ALLOW ONLY SPARKLERS AND/OR OTHER NOVELTIES: 

• Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Ohio & Vermont

Patriotic-Sounding Place Names

Thirty-one places have "liberty" in their names. The most populous one as of April 1, 2010, is Liberty, Mo. (29,149) Iowa, with four, has more of these places than any other state: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.

Thirty-five places have "eagle" in their names. The most populous one is Eagle Pass, Texas (26,248).

Eleven places have "independence" in their names. The most populous one is Independence, Mo. (116,830).

Nine places have "freedom" in their names. The most populous one is New Freedom, Pa. (4,464).

One place with "patriot" in the name. Patriot, Ind. (209).

Five places have "America" in their names. The most populous is American Fork, Utah (26,263).

The British are Coming!

$98.3 billion

Dollar value of trade last year between the United States and the United Kingdom, making the British, our adversary in 1776, our sixth-leading trading partner today. 

Fourth of July Cookouts

81 million

Number of Americans who said they have taken part in a barbecue during the previous year. It's probably safe to assume a lot of these events took place on Independence Day.  

More than 1 in 4

The chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on the Fourth of July originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 19.0 million hogs and pigs on March 1, 2011. This estimate represents more than one-fourth of the nation's estimated total. North Carolina (8.6 million) and Minnesota (7.6 million) were also homes to large numbers of pigs.  

CITATIONS