Happy Independence Day: Celebrating America's Birthday

0:03 Calarogus Shark Media. Greetings trivia fans. I'm Mark Allison in Happy Independence Day. Today, we're celebrating America's birthday with questions about our nation's founding and traditions. Question one. How many colonies originally declared independence from British rule in seventeen seventy six? Question two? Which three US presidents died on July fourth, making this date historically significant beyond Independence Day? Question three?

0:45 What bird was chosen as the national symbol of the United States despite Benjamin Franklin's preference for a different bird? Question four? In what year did the fourth of July become a federal holiday with paid time off for federal employees? Question five? Which patriotic song contains the lyrics, Oh say, can you see by the Don's early light? We'll be right back with these star spangled answers after this break.

1:26 Welcome back, trivia fans. Let's reveal today's answers. Question one, how many colonies declared independence? Answer thirteen. The original thirteen colonies that declared independence were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Question two, which three presidents died on July fourth? Answer? Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe. Remarkably, both Jefferson and Adams died on the same day, July fourth, eighteen twenty sive the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration. Munroe died on July fourth, eighteen thirty one, making this date extraordinarily significant in presidential history. Question three. What bird became the national symbol? Answer? The bald eagle, chosen in seventeen eighty two. The bald eagle appears on the Great Seal of the United States. Benjamin Franklin famously preferred the turkey, calling the eagle a bird of bad moral character and praising the turkey as a much more respectable bird. Question four.

2:35 When did July fourth become a federal holiday? Answer eighteen seventy. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid federal holiday in eighteen seventy, and in nineteen thirty eight it became a paid holiday for federal employees. The holiday has been celebrated continuously since seventeen seventy six, making it one of America's oldest traditions. Question five, Which song contains osay? Can you see? Answer? The Star Spangled Banner written by Francis Scott Key in eighteen fourteen during the War of eighteen twelve, It became the national anthem in nineteen thirty one. Key wrote the poem after witnessing the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry after a British bombardment. That concludes today's five daily trivia questions. I'm Mark Ellison, and today's questions were crafted with the help of AI technology. If you'd like to enjoy five daily trivia questions without ads, check the link in our show notes or visit Caalaroga dot com slash plus.

3:37 Have a wonderful Independence Day and we'll see you on Monday.