Countdown Until Christmas

Some things never change

But we don't have to worry about that now. Today is all about good ol' fashioned American fun.

Here are some fun facts about the U.S.A. so you and the family can test your knowledge of this great land of ours.

From www.census.gov :

n The population of the United States in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was singed was 2.5 million. The nation's estimated population today: 311.7 million.

n Texas accounted for 6.8 billion pounds of cattle and calf production in 2010. The burgers, steaks, and beef hot dogs you're grilling today probably came from your home state.

There may be a whole lot more people in this country now than there used to be, and those people come from a vast array of cultural backgrounds and traditions, but other things about the holiday have remained consistent for the past 345 years.

From www.history.com :

n The Fourth of July has only been a paid federal holiday since 1941, but it has been celebrated as the birthday of our independence since 1776.

n Philadelphia held the first commemoration of independence on July 4, 1777, and in 1778 George Washington issued double rations of rum to his soldiers to celebrate the day (I like your style, George!).

n John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the declaration of independence: July 4, 1826.

From news. nationalgeographic. com:

n Fireworks were first authorized by Congress to celebrate the 4th of July in 1777.

n The American Pyrotechnics Association estimates that more than 14,000 fireworks displays light up skies in America each Fourth of July.

Some things have changed, of course. In the 1800s, Fourth of July celebrations included artillery salutes with leftover explosives from various wars. As cannons fell into disrepair from disuse, this tradition has faded. But, despite it being against the law, many Texans still can't resist the urge to shoot their guns off even today.

This is a holiday that has definitely stood the test of time. From the very first celebrations in Philadelphia in 1777 until the present day, we still consider this to be a day worthy of much pomp and circumstance. Our founding fathers celebrated it, and we still do it today, from sea to shining sea. Now that is something worth cheering about!

Fun Countdown for the iPad with multitouch calendar events and ...

Thousand Oaks, California – Energize Software today is pleased to announce the release of Fun Countdown, a unique way to visually represent holidays and custom recurring calendar events by using multitouch gestures on the iPad.

See the number of days countdown until your favorite holiday or custom recurring event by using multitouch gestures to resize, rotate, and position an event. See animated objects that get bigger as each day gets closer, listen to music (built-in or your own), change background pictures, set alerts, and save custom layouts.

Feature highlights include: App Icon

Located in Thousand Oaks, California, Energize Software specializes in the development of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch software. Its goal is to produce high quality and easy-to-use software that not only increases productivity but also entertains. Copyright 2011 Energize Software. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

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