God Bless America! Little Known Facts about Independence Day

Episode 184:  Vonda and Lori step back from the business of flowers to reflect and respect our country and share some little known facts about the 4th of July. In this family friendly episode, we encourage you to share it with your family and friends. Celebrate safely! 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:44

Welcome to the Business and Pleasure of Flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever and Lori Wilson.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

And we believe that business and fun are a perfect combination. Kind of like us, Vonda.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

Happy Independence Day, Lori. Yes, happy 4th of July. Are you gonna eat a hot dog? I don't know. I'm an AIFD Symposium. I'm not sure they really have.

SPEAKER_04 1:10

Oh, that's true. You know, this is so here's a fun fact about me. I think you already know this. And I talked about this with some of our members and uh the JetFresh guys on the bus at NextGen. One of my favorite foods in the world are hot dogs. However, I only eat them once a year because they make me very sick. Really? Well, they make me sick because I don't just eat one. I love them so much. I always go for the second one, even though my husband always says, Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. I'm like, oh no, I can handle it. I can handle it. I just I'm only gonna eat one more, just one more because they're so good. And then I always get sick. So it's gonna happen again, and I know it and I'm okay with it. I'm just gonna deal with it. But I'm gonna have one. I'm super excited.

SPEAKER_03 2:10

So you're not gonna just have one, you're gonna have two, is what you're saying.

SPEAKER_04 2:13

Well, that's what makes you sick. Well, I'm gonna tell you right now, I'm just gonna have one, but we both know that's probably a lie.

SPEAKER_03 2:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:19

All right, you're gonna have, but I have to get nitrate-free hot dogs because my new neurologist who said nitrates, which I've kind of always known this, but this is one of the newest things that I have completely tried to remove nitrates from anything in my diet because for some people who get migraines, I want to be very clear on my words. I am not saying for the world, for some people who get chronic migraines, which that would be new, unique nitrates can be a trigger. Okay, and so we suspect it is one a trigger for me. So that means any kind of lunch meat, processed lunch meat, any which I don't eat a lot of processes. So hot dogs are one of them. Here's another fun fact I learned a next gen. Our friend Sherilyn Wyeth from Muffy's Flowers in Alaska said reindeer hot dogs, which they eat over there, don't have nitrates in them. So but I don't live in Alaska. That's a little hard to I'm not gonna go to Alaska anytime soon either.

SPEAKER_03 3:35

So anyway. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 3:39

She's I think they they I think Whole Foods has some nitrate-free. I don't know if they taste as good, but I'm gonna try. That's my goal.

SPEAKER_03 3:47

I didn't know that they made nitrate-free hot dogs, but I suppose they do. They make gluten-free things. Yeah, yeah, I don't either.

SPEAKER_04 3:54

I'm gonna be on the hunt. I'll keep you posted. I don't know how they'll taste. I may just have one, I may be a one and done. I'll just put a ton of mustard on it. Say the hot dog. So I don't know. We'll see.

SPEAKER_03 4:07

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying hot dogs, hamburgers, all the great picnic foods. I just wanted a really good broccoli salad. That's one of my favorite.

SPEAKER_04 4:16

You make the best broccoli fruits again. Speaking of nitrates, bacon. Bacon go in a little bit of bacon, like the super crunchy.

SPEAKER_05 4:25

Oh, god, that's so good.

SPEAKER_04 4:27

Yes, that sounds delicious. Um, and fireworks, fireworks, yes, all of the stuff. I've got such good memories of 4th of July growing up in a small town, Oklahoma. Always going to the fireworks, we're going to the lake. I remember, I have such vivid memories of 1976. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

Absolutely. I remember that. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 4:59

That was a week-long celebration.

SPEAKER_03 5:03

It was a big deal.

SPEAKER_04 5:04

Yes. Yeah. I remember like these three boys dressed in little drummer outfits, like walking around town with their little drums. And I was like, oh my gosh, it was just like reminded me of in the history books, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:22

It was so cool. And it's interesting because I think all of us who experienced, you know, 1976 remember the year of the Declaration of Independence, which I think a lot of people maybe forget that it was, you know, 1776. How many of our listeners out there know that that's when the Declaration of Pandemic is signed? And fun fact that did you know that George Washington did not sign the Declaration of Independence?

SPEAKER_04 5:52

I know. Isn't that weird? And I think it's one of those. There's a name for it. I can't remember what it's called, but it's that theory that we just assume it's true, but it never, ever, ever happened. The theory I'm talking about, I can't remember what it's called now. That's gonna drive me crazy. Um, and that's one of them.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Yeah. Well, and also that most of the founding fathers did not sign the Declaration of Independence until August 2nd, which just happens to be my birthday.

SPEAKER_04 6:26

Yes. So I think that's why they did it. They waited till Vonda's birthday.

SPEAKER_03 6:31

Right, that's it, Lori.

SPEAKER_04 6:34

That is it. So, so what we thought we'd do, you have your list of kind of we're calling them fun facts because we're fun. And then I pulled some fun facts that I thought were interesting, all 4th of July related, and we're gonna sort of go back and forth and see. I think some of ours are the same and some are dissimilar. So that's what this is gonna be about. Nothing to do with flowers, but all just interesting facts about the Fourth of July.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

And the United States of America.

SPEAKER_04 7:14

All right, you go ahead and start.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

Okay, so Thomas Jefferson was not the only author of the Declaration of Independence. I think a lot of times we think, oh, he was the author, and but it wasn't a solo project, he was a member of a five-person committee that was appointed by the Continental Congress to write the declaration, which included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman, which are really people you don't hear of very often.

unknown 7:47

No.

SPEAKER_04 7:48

I think that's very interesting. Um, one of my interesting facts is Edward Rutledge, who I have never heard of, was the youngest person to sign the Declaration of Independence at age 26, while Benjamin Franklin was the oldest at age 70.

SPEAKER_03 8:15

Very interesting.

SPEAKER_04 8:16

Isn't that interesting? I have never have you heard of Edward Rutledge?

SPEAKER_03 8:21

I have not, but my fun fact on that says the average age of the signers was 45.

SPEAKER_04 8:29

Yeah, well, there you go. There you go. That would be the average, right?

SPEAKER_03 8:33

Yep, right in there.

SPEAKER_04 8:35

All right, let me see.

SPEAKER_03 8:37

You're good, you go this time.

SPEAKER_04 8:39

Okay, well, this is my fun fact. I sent you this one yesterday because I thought that's crazy. All right, President Zachary Taylor died in 1850 after eating spoiled fruit following his Fourth of July speech. Oh my gosh, that's ate some fruit from the picnic and died. And so his vice president at the time was Millard Fillmore, who then became president.

unknown 9:13

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 9:19

Here's another fun fact: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on the 4th of July. Isn't that interesting? They died on the 50th anniversary of on July 4th, 1826.

SPEAKER_04 9:36

And to add to that, five years later, on the 4th of July, President James Monroe died.

SPEAKER_03 9:45

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 9:46

Isn't that crazy?

SPEAKER_03 9:47

That's kind of cool. I mean, it's I do not know these, and I bet our clickers didn't know all these.

SPEAKER_04 9:52

Some of these, I will tell you, some of these were when I taught fifth grade US history, United States history. It was fifth grade in Texas. You would talk about these. And so, you know, you're always trying to pull what are interesting facts that the kid students will actually retain. Yeah, some of these. I was like, oh yeah, I remember teaching this, like some of the stuff that you so because you want to give them something to take home that they'll go home and go home. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. I love that. So President James Monroe died five years later on the 4th of July. To add to that, Calvin Coolidge is the only president that was born on the 4th of July. So that's he's the only president so far that has the birthday, July 4th.

SPEAKER_03 10:48

Hmm. Okay, very interesting. Very interesting. Well, this doesn't have anything to do with the presidents, but my in-laws were married on the 4th of July.

SPEAKER_04 10:57

Oh, that's cute. Very cute. Now I will always remember that.

SPEAKER_03 11:03

Yep. Bill, Bill and Joe LaFever.

SPEAKER_04 11:05

Very, very cute. You brought up George Washington earlier. I did. How he did not sign, but do you know how he celebrated the 4th of July? Even though he didn't sign the declaration. No, I don't. Well, you're gonna love, you're gonna love it. He celebrated the every 4th of July, well, the 4th of July by giving his soldiers a double ration of rum.

SPEAKER_03 11:34

Yeah, there that's for the 4th of July.

SPEAKER_04 11:38

Yep, a double ration.

SPEAKER_03 11:40

So double ration, love it, love it. That's okay. So let's take a minute and break because we heard the girls when they were younger. So let's listen to them now.

SPEAKER_04 11:50

Yes, because they are now fourteen years old.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Stand beside her and I the night. To the oceans, let me fall. Sweet.

SPEAKER_03 12:38

A little bit of a difference, huh, Lori?

SPEAKER_04 12:40

Yes, you know what? They're growing up too fast. And I know if Cammy or when Cammy is listening to this, now she is probably bawling because it's just happening way too fast. It is, it really is. All right, it's your turn with your facts.

SPEAKER_03 12:57

The Liberty Bell no longer rings.

SPEAKER_04 13:01

Okay, I have one. I have an add-on, I have an addendum to this.

SPEAKER_03 13:05

Okay, the Liberty Bell cracked beyond repair in 1846. Okay, so go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 13:13

Okay, yes, all of that is true. But did you know that every 4th of July, the Liberty Bell, which is in Philadelphia, is tapped, tapped, they don't ring it, tapped 13 times on the 4th of July to honor the original 13 colonies.

SPEAKER_03 13:41

Isn't that not no that that is really cool? I know it. Okay, my fun fact the tune of a national anthem is actually from an English drinking song.

SPEAKER_04 13:59

That is fact. I know that, I think it's funny, and I've actually heard the drinking song before. I think I saw it on YouTube once, and I'm like, oh my gosh, that is the Star Spangled Banner. It's crazy. And the Star Spangled Banner became the national anthem in 1931.

SPEAKER_03 14:26

I did not know that. I didn't have that on my fun fact, so that's good.

SPEAKER_04 14:30

And it was like rewritten a couple of different times, and it was written by Francis Scott Key.

SPEAKER_03 14:38

We learned that in school. It's one of those things that you don't forget. Some of you, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:43

Yep, yep. All right, you have another one.

SPEAKER_03 14:47

The one I have is more than 14,000 fireworks displays light up the skies each 4th of July. Oh, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_04 14:57

I did have one about fireworks, but I think I deleted it because I was getting too many. So I'm going to. Oh, I'm gonna go back to hot dogs. I've got one on hot dogs. Oh, okay. Americans consume approximately 150 million hot dogs every 4th of July. Oh my gosh, that would stretch all the way from DC to LA more than five times. But rarely do they eat hot dogs without nitrates. Yeah, and that one didn't figure out that that that part's not a fun fact. That's just that's just my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

Oh, how funny. That that's good. That's a lot of hot dogs. That's a lot of hot dogs. That's gross, actually. That's really gross. So going back to hot dogs, how do you like your hot dog? Like on the grill. Do you like it like that? I like it charred. Yeah, yes, it's gotta be really, really cooked.

SPEAKER_04 16:01

Yeah, really, really cooked. The other thing that way I like it is I like my bun toasted. Okay, you spread a little cream cheese inside the bun. That is yes, it's gotta be cream cheese in there. Then I like a lot of mustard and some relish. And I even like if it's jalapenos, that's fine. A little onion is fine, and oh my gosh, I do not want any ketchup anywhere near it. Gag. No ketchup. How do you like yours if you are eating a hot dog? I know you don't.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

I like hot dogs, believe it or not. And chard usually is the best. Eat them naked. I don't put them in a bun. I like to just eat them and dip them in horseradish mustard. Spicy mustard. Spicy mustard. Yes.

unknown 16:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 16:56

Well, that would be that's how I'll go in with the second one. I don't need a bun for the second one. That's my downfall, Vonda. That's where I it's it would be. I have never in my life been a smoker, but it's how I imagine if I was a cigarette smoker and you have just one, you're like, oh, I gotta go in for that second one. That's how if I was smoking hot dogs, I would be. I'd go in for the one and like, oh, I just gotta go in for that one more. Very and then I'm sick. Like it, it's not pretty. And and then I have zero sympathy from the spouse. Oh, I'm sure. All I get is a I told you so. Told you so. Told you, told you so. I told you, I told you this is all I get. All I get. My dog is sympathetic. He will lay next to me on the bathroom floor. Well, at least you do have a little cares. The only one that cares. So, and it's never alcohol related, it's hot dog related. All right, here's my other fun fact. Okay, there have been 27 different versions of our United States flag. The original flag featured stars and stripes for the 13 colonies. Right today's version of the flag came to be following the addition of a 50th star in 1960 to represent Hawaii. 27 different versions.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

Yeah, that's interesting. I know it. And you know, as we know, Betsy Ross.

SPEAKER_04 18:40

Betsy Ross, Betsy freaking Ross. I forgot about her. I think I did a book report on her.

SPEAKER_03 18:47

I must have too. Something just jumped into my head going, Betsy Ross.

SPEAKER_04 18:51

Yes. So when my sister was in grade school, she had to do a book report on a historical figure. And she was at the school library and she didn't know who to pick. And the librarian said, How about Dolly Madison? James Madison's. And my sister replied, Well, I'm just not really interested in donuts. So I was gonna say, I get it. I knew what she was gonna say because I'd be like, Oh yes, she did not realize that was the president's wife, James Madison. Anyway, so the problem with all of that was the my dad being in in uh principal and my mom being a teacher. That that story circulated the town very quickly. And you know, my sister didn't know it was funny because she was in like fourth grade, but it's funny, it is funny, and so to this day you hear doll, oh, my sister is not really into donuts, so it never goes away sometimes. Yeah, and you can edit this out if you want, Vonda, because it's it's funny, but she's still not really interested in donuts or or the president's wife, she either wants to do the book or she didn't care about Dolly Madison or her donuts, either way. So, okay, my last fun fact is in 1776, there were 2.5 million people living in the United States of America, 2.2 million million, which I'm like, gosh, that sounds like a lot of people. Today, there are more than 314 million in the United States.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

So that's a lot to be grateful for, a lot to be grateful for a lot for our freedom and all those who gave us that freedom and my have we grown, boy, have we grown since 1776.

SPEAKER_04 21:02

We have to now say the Pledge of Allegiance.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

Pledge of Allegiance to the class, the Nia States of America.

SPEAKER_04 21:21

Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoyed spending time with us because we enjoy spending time with you. If you did, make sure you hit that subscribe button or add the Business and Pleasure of Flowers to your Google morning routine or your flash briefing on Alexa. We look forward to seeing you next week.

SPEAKER_03 21:42

So please come back and join us and discover how a bit of knowledge and one small change in your mindset can take you to new levels in your life and business.