America claimed independence on July 4th, 1776.
Exactly 233 years passed since then on the same day 2009.
233 years is a Fibonacci number. The last Fib number was 144 or 1776 + 144 = 1920 or 89 years ago which is also a Fib number.
233 is significant is several ways. If this is interesting to you, let me know and I will post some additional info regarding 233 and Fib numbers.