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Independence Day

With summer in full swing and the temperature rising, it’s time to get out and enjoy some outdoor activities!

This year seems to be flying by and Independence day right around the corner, here are some interesting facts from SheerID:

  • An estimated 214 million people plan to celebrate the Fourth of July
  • $6.8 billion will be spent on food items for independence day, about $71.34 per household
  • Nearly 2/3 plan to attend a cookout, barbecue or picnic
  • It is estimated that there will be 14,000 fireworks displays on the 4th of July
  • IBISWorld expects retail sales of consumer fireworks to reach $710 million during this holiday season
  • 150 million hot dogs will be consumed – enough to span D.C. to L.A. over five times
  • 700 million pounds of chicken will be purchased
  • Over 22.8 million cases of beer were sold in 2014 during the Fourth of July weekend, including two million cases of craft beer.
  • 41.9M of Americans will travel at least 50 miles for the holiday
  • The annual “Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest” on the 4th has a high record of 69 hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes – that adds up to a whopping 20,010 calories, 1,173 grams of fat and 48,990 milligrams of sodium 48 million will go shopping for red, white, and blue items
  • 25.4% plan on purchasing patriotic merchandise for the holiday

Do you enjoy fireworks – which type of firework are you? Take the quiz.

But don’t forget the importance of sunscreen while outside this summer, and year round really. Here are 5 facts that you might not know about sunscreen (read the full article here):

  1. Not all sunscreens protect you from the sun.
  2.  Just a little dab will not do.
  3. SPF 30 is not twice the protection as SPF 15.
  4. Apply sunscreen while outside is already too late.
  5. There’s no such thing as “waterproof” sunscreen.

A big thanks to the GSM team, the guys were a big help at our test roof installation yesterday.

Michael Stieh Sr Staff Engineer