Irish eyes are smiling on Houston again this year as we prepare to don our green for St. Patrick's Day this Friday, March 17. While 33 million Irish-Americans, and those of us who wish we were, raise our glasses of green beer in celebration of Ireland's patron saint, there are some interesting facts about this holiday to consider.
The website WalletHub has once again released its list of St. Patrick's Day by the numbers and let's just say Americans are set to spend some serious green again this year.
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MONEY:
$5.3 billion: Amount expected to be spent on St. Patrick's Day 2017
$1.22 million: Market value of a pot o' gold containing 1,000 1-ounce pieces of gold
$36.50: Average amount St. Patrick's party-goers will spend
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CELEBRATIONS:
56.1 percent: Number of Americans who plan to celebrate
82.5 percent: Celebrators who plan to wear green
11 percent: Americans who are planning a St. Patrick's Day vacation
31 percent: Americans who will prepare a special St. Patrick's Day meal
1737: First St. Patrick's Day Parade held in Boston, not Ireland
IRISH FACTS:
33.5 million: Irish-Americans estimated to live in the U.S.; 7x the population of Ireland
16: Places named Dublin in the US, including one in Texas
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RESOURCES:
$0.50: Price per pound of cabbage
70 percent: Increase in cabbage shipments during St. Patrick's week
45 pounds: Amount of vegetable-based dye used to dye the Chicago River green
13 million: Pints of Guinness consumed worldwide on St. Patrick's Day
SOBERING STATS:
4th: St. Patrick's day ranks fourth on list of biggest drinking days, behind New Year's Eve, Christmas and the Fourth of July
30: Drunk-driving casualties on St. Patrick Day 2015
75 percent: Percentage of drivers involved in fatal crash on St. Patrick's Day who are more than two times over the legal limit
72 minutes: Interval at which alcohol-related crashes claim a life on St. Patrick's Day