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A few things you might not know about Independence Day

1. The actual date the Founding Fathers declared “independence” from the British is July 2, 1776, but the Second Continental Congress’ declaration vote was not made public until it was published in newspapers two days later.

2. Two of America’s most famous Founding Fathers, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, died on July 4, 1826, within five hours of each other. Jefferson was 82 and Adams was 90. Another Founding Father, James Monroe, died on the same day five years later.

3. Apple pie may be the all-American dessert, but the fruit itself — and the recipe for the pie — are European. All but one breed of apple found in America comes from somewhere other than America. Early European settlers are credited with bringing apple seeds with them to the “new world” and the pie recipe dates back to the 14th Century.

4. The first “American” was Virginia Dare, who was born in 1587 to English parents who settled in a colony known as Roanoke Island, which had been settled by Sir Walter Drake. The colony didn’t last for reasons that are not known to historians. It was located off the Outer Banks of North Carolina in Dare County.

5. If you were going to host an Independence Day Party in the 18th or 19th centuries, the “must-have” food would have been turtle soup, not hot dogs or potato salad.

6. The Liberty Bell was not rung in 1776 to announce the Founding Fathers’ vote declaring the country’s independence. The crack likely occurred when it was rung for the first time in 1752 in the Pennsylvania State House steeple. However, the tale became mythologized in a short story published in 1847 that claimed it cracked when an elderly bell-ringer rang it for the first time on July 4, 1776.

Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com, www.infoplease.com, Los Angeles Times, glo.msn.com, www.hot-dog.org