Here are a few facts about commerce on the Fourth of July you may not have considered, and probably never had any reason to consider, so naturally, we feel obliged to serve them up for you:

- If you eat a hot dog or pork sausage this holiday weekend, the U.S. Census Bureau says chances are good the meat originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to over 17.6 million market hogs and pigs on March 1, which represented about 25 percent of the national total.

- If you add a squirt of catsup to a hot dog, you can thank the growers in California, where most tomatoes are processed.

- If you have baked beans with your dog, they might come from North Dakota, which produced 39 percent of the nation's dry, edible beans in 2008.

- Eat any potato salad or chips? Half the national spud supply comes from Idaho or Washington state.

- No matter what you eat, chances are pretty good you'll wash it down with beer. The Nielsen Company says the Fourth of July continues to be the biggest holiday for beer sales. In 2008, supermarkets across the U.S. sold more than 24 million cases of various brew during the holiday period.

- American flags are inseparable from the Fourth. Most flag imports are from in China. The same goes for fireworks.

I associate fireworks more with the War of 1812, and "the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air," penned by the author of the Star Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key.

But then, August 24, the date in 1814 that the British burned Washington, wouldn't be much of a national celebration, even though it might be appropriate for the barbecuing season.

Curiously, the year 1814 arrived during the War of 1812. Another oddity is that according to the National Archives, Independence Day should really be July 2, our July 4 national holiday notwithstanding.

July 2, 1776 is the date upon which the Continental Congress actually voted for independence. And while the written Declaration of Independence was dated July 4, it wasn't actually signed until August.

July 4, 1776 didn't signal the start of the Revolutionary War, either. Military operations had been under way for a while. In fact, if rebels had not captured Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775 and later dragged the captured Redcoat cannons across the snow to Boston, the American Revolution may not have lasted long enough for the Founding Fathers to write their famous document.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@trib.com, or call 307-266-0574. Or check out his "Two Bits Worth" blog at tribtown.trib.com/TomMast/blog.