Tomorrow we celebrate our nation’s Independence Day, so why not kick things off today with some stats and facts . . .

1. The American Flag – 61% of Americans own an American flag, but most weren’t made in America. We import about $5.4 million worth of American flags each year from China.

2. Hot Dogs – We like ’em . . . especially on Independence Day. It’s estimated we around 150 million hot dogs on the Fourth of July.

3. Beer – Did you know the Fourth of July is the number one beer-drinking holiday in the U.S.? We spend an estimated $1 BILLION on beer for the Fourth, plus another $568 million on wine.

4. Fireworks – Costing a total of more than $1 billion, there are over 16,000 fireworks shows going on around the country on the Fourth of July. Oh yeah, and around 870 people have to go to the emergency room because of firework accidents each year (and there’s an average of eight firework deaths).

5. Americans – Back in 1776 when the United States became an independent country, there were 2.5 million residents. Today, there are 327.2 million residents.