JULY 4TH

By Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Tiny Town That’s Home to America’s Oldest July 4th Celebration

Bristol, Rhode Island covers only about 10 square miles of the country's terrain, but it's home to one of America's most storied Independence Day celebrations.

What does Betsy Ross have to do with it? Probably not as much as you learned in history class...

12 Fun Facts About the U.S. Flag

Flag Day is June 14. If you’re wondering what that date has to do with the Stars and Stripes, why the flag looks the way it does, who came up with it, who paid for it, and what you can and can’t do with it—read on.

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14 Antique Roller Coasters You Can Still Ride

If you don't mind the creaking and rattling, old-school wooden coasters can still offer a thrill. Here are a few oldies-but-goodies to check out this summer.

7 Weird, Offbeat Fourth of July Parades

These eccentric Fourth of July parades might make you reconsider how you spend the Fourth.

Roberta F, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

Quiet Fireworks: A Kinder, Gentler Way to Celebrate

The bangs and booms of traditional fireworks can disrupt and upset animals and people alike.

The 15 Funniest Secret Service Code Names

Who wouldn't want to be called "Whaleboat" or "Grandma"?

President Richard Nixon with the cast of the musical 1776 after a performance in the East Room of the White House in 1970. Nixon lobbied to have the song "Cool, Considerate Men" removed from the show; he finally succeeded when a prominent campaign supporter of his produced the movie version and had the footage deleted.

10 Star-Spangled Facts About the Musical 1776

The winner of three Tony Awards (including Best Musical), '1776' might be the most improbable hit in Broadway history.

10 Fireworks Effects You Should Know the Names Of

Many of the fireworks you're familiar with also have pretty common names. When in doubt, assume a display is named for a flower or animal.

John Adams: National Archive/Newsmakers/Hulton Archive. Background: iStock/Getty Images Plus/smartstock.

When John Adams Predicted the Wrong Independence Day

When John Adams penned a letter to future First Lady Abigail Adams on July 3, 1776, he guessed how future generations of Americans would celebrate Independence Day with remarkable accuracy—but he got the date wrong.

9 Ways to Celebrate Independence Day Like a POTUS

Fireworks. Barbecues. Trips to the ER. Sick of doing the same old thing every Fourth of July? Abandon your routine and celebrate like our presidents do.

Who Wrote the Pledge of Allegiance?

Various people had their hands on it, but the credit for the bulk of the pledge goes to Francis Julius Bellamy, a Baptist minister from New York.

10 Famous Americans Who Were Born on the Fourth of July

Calvin Coolidge was the only U.S. president to have been born on Independence Day, but these 10 other famous Americans also have blowout birthdays.

8 Other Things That Happened on July 4

Check out eight memorable events—from some notable births to coincidental deaths—that all took place on July 4.