Good morning. It's August 4th — let's begin where we always do: on this very date in history.
📅 On This Day — August 4
🍪 (It's also National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day.)
1958 — Billboard published its first Hot 100 chart; Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" was the very first #1.
1984 — The West African nation of Upper Volta renamed itself Burkina Faso, "land of the upright people."
1987 — The FCC voted to scrap the Fairness Doctrine, the rule requiring broadcasters to air opposing views.
1997 — Jeanne Calment of France died at 122 — the longest verified human lifespan on record.
2007 — NASA launched the Phoenix lander toward Mars, bound for the planet's arctic plains.
Now, let's set the dial back to 1999…
⏪ REWIND: 1999 Bill Clinton is president, a first-class stamp is 33 cents — and it's the last summer of the millennium, all dial-up modems, teen pop, and quiet worry about what happens when the clocks hit "2000."
📰 The Headlines One week out, the world is bracing for the last total solar eclipse of the millennium (Aug 11). Its shadow will race across Britain, Europe, the Middle East and India — the most-watched eclipse in history, with millions holding cardboard glasses to the sky.
🎬 At the Movies The surprise of the summer is The Blair Witch Project, which went wide July 30. Shot on a shoestring, sold on a spooky website, and rumored — falsely — to be real footage, it's turning a few thousand dollars into a genuine phenomenon.
🎵 On the Charts At #1 on the Hot 100 is "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera — the 18-year-old's debut single and the hook you cannot escape, on a five-week run at the top.
🏆 In Sports Two weeks back, on Yogi Berra Day, David Cone threw a perfect game for the Yankees (July 18) — 27 up, 27 down — with Don Larsen, author of the only World Series perfect game, watching from the stands.
🏰 The Disney Vault Still swinging through theaters: Tarzan (released June 18), Disney's animated take on the ape-man, with Phil Collins songs and a painterly "deep canvas" look — the studio's big summer hit.
— 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: if a full walk feels like too much on a busy day, three short ones add up to the same thing — your body doesn't count them any differently. More easy wellness reading is at ourfreehealthreport.com.
🎉 Born on an August 4th — 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 4 babies include Barack Obama (1961), jazz father Louis Armstrong (1901), Billy Bob Thornton (1955), pitcher Roger Clemens (1962), and Meghan Markle (1981).
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