Good morning. It's August 1st — let's begin where we always do: on this very date in history.
📅 On This Day — August 1
🌐 (It's also World Wide Web Day.)
1957 — The U.S. and Canada stood up NORAD, the joint command that would watch North American skies (and, later, track Santa).
1971 — George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh filled Madison Square Garden twice over — Dylan, Clapton, Ringo, Billy Preston — the first great benefit concert.
1978 — Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak ended in Atlanta, one shy of the modern National League record he'd just tied.
1981 — At 12:01 a.m., MTV signed on with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll" — and, fittingly, "Video Killed the Radio Star."
2008 — A total solar eclipse swept from the Arctic across Siberia and into China, watched by millions along its path.
Now, let's set the dial back to 1966…
⏪ REWIND: 1966 LBJ is president, a first-class stamp is 5 cents — and it's shaping up to be one of the great years in pop.
📰 The Headlines One month in, Medicare is already working. The program that launched July 1 has enrolled some 19 million older Americans, the biggest change to the way the country pays for health care in a generation — and the new red-white-and-blue cards are turning up in mailboxes everywhere.
🎬 At the Movies Fresh in theaters: Batman, the big-screen spin-off of the Adam West TV craze (premiered July 30). Batman and Robin take on four villains at once, complete with a rubber shark and a can of shark-repellent Bat-spray.
🎵 On the Charts New at #1 on the Hot 100 is "Wild Thing" by The Troggs — three chords, an ocarina solo, and the raw sound of garage rock crashing the mainstream.
🏆 In Sports Frank Robinson and the Baltimore Orioles are pulling away in the American League. Robinson is on his way to the Triple Crown and a unanimous MVP — and the Orioles to a stunning four-game World Series sweep of the Dodgers.
🏰 The Disney Vault A week ago, Walt Disney himself dedicated New Orleans Square (July 24) — Disneyland's first all-new "land," built alongside New Orleans' own mayor. It would be Walt's last major public appearance at the park before his death that December; Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion would soon move in.
— a couple of quick things before you go —
👟 Step Challenge: the Summer 2026 Step Challenge is rolling — grab the free Pacer app and walk with us: Join the challenge (already have Pacer? Club code E42727228). Every step counts.
💡 Health Snap: weekend mornings are the easiest time to bank a longer walk — the calendar's clear and the temperature's kind before mid-morning.
🎉 Born on an August 1st — or know someone who was?
Forward this to them right now — there's no better "this is the day you were born" gift than a little time travel.
🎂 In good company: August 1 babies include the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia (1942), designer Yves Saint Laurent (1936), Public Enemy's Chuck D (1960), rapper Coolio (1963), and Jason Momoa (1979).
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