A few bits of Fourth of July trivia, courtesy of Farmer’s Almanac:

• So when is Independence Day, really? The colonies actually voted to accept the Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1776, and announced the vote on July 4, but the formal signing wasn’t actually until Aug. 2.

• The first firework display wasn’t until July 4, 1777, in Philadelphia. Boston had Independence Day fireworks that year, too, and a tradition was born.

• Three presidents died on the Fourth of July. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, hours apart, in 1826; and James Monroe in 1831.

• There have been 28 versions of the American flag so far. The current flag, created when Alaska and Hawaii joined the union in 1958, was the result of a school project, and was designed by Robert Heft, 17. His teacher gave him a B-, but when his pattern won the national flag design competition, the teacher changed it to an A.