MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Independence Day is the busiest grilling holiday of the year.

Why are we so crazy about cooking over a grill? Jason DeRusha looked into the unusual history.

Almost 8 out of 10 of us own a grill and that’s up 5 percent from five years ago.

The idea of a home grill didn’t catch fire until the 1950s, when Americans flocked to the suburbs.

George Stephen invented the modern grill, inspired by the buoys he built for Weber Brothers Metal Company in suburban Chicago.

He cut the buoy in half and created the first Weber Kettle Grill in 1952.

Nearly 70 percent of us own a gas grill, and 37 percent own a charcoal grill.

In general, men do the grilling –- more than 60 percent of the time.

The beef industry sponsored some research into the psychology of grilling, too, finding that we actually equate grilling with freedom.