Last year, 78 million Americans had a barbecue on July 4th.

We grill everything from hot dogs to shish kabobs.

But, exactly how many hot dogs do we consume?

Here’s a few fun facts to chew on before the holiday.

Have a fantastic Fourth of July.

Be safe and eat well.

We’ll see you on Monday,

Nancy and Miki

Americans eat 20 billion hot dogs a year – an average of 70 hot dogs per person. More hot dogs are eaten in July than any other month of the year, which is why it is designated National Hot Dog Month. (Freebie alert: Wienerschnitzel giving away hot dogs. Click here to get details.)

On July 4 alone, the biggest hot dog day of the year, 155 million hot dogs will be consumed. That is enough hot dogs to stretch from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., more than five times.

Which state eats the most dogs on July 4? Roughly one-fourth of all citizens of Iowa ate hot dogs and pork sausages on July 4, 2008.

Where’s the beef? In Texas in 2007, there were 6.8 billion pounds of cattle and calves — this infers that most of our beef hot dogs, steaks and burgers come from Texas.

$1 billion result from the total revenue of boiler chicken from 6 of the nation’s states: Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.

2/5 of the baked beans we eat come from North Dakota, which produced about 39% of the nation’s dry and edible beans in 2008.

Another popular side dish for Independence Day is corn on the cob. Florida, California, Georgia and New York in total produced 61% of naturally grown sweet corn in 2008.

Potato salad and potato chips are popular food items at any Fourth of July barbecue. In 2008, ha lf of the nation’s potatoes come from Idaho or Washington.

lf of the nation’s potatoes come from Idaho or Washington. ¾ of the nation’s lettuce in 2008 is produced in California, which makes it most probable that California supplies our salads and burgers.

96% of ketchup was made in California in 2008.

The state of Florida lead watermelon production last year, totaling 861 million pounds.

Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and National Hot Dog & Sausage Council.

(Photos courtesy of Register archives)

(Data compiled by Miki Fujiwara/Staff writer-intern)