Good morning. It's August 8th — let's begin where we always do: on this very date in history.
📅 On This Day — August 8
🐱 (It's also International Cat Day.)
1963 — England's Great Train Robbery — a gang stopped a Royal Mail train and made off with £2.6 million, one of the biggest heists in history.
1969 — The Beatles stopped traffic on a London street to shoot the Abbey Road cover — one crosswalk, six quick photos.
1974 — President Nixon announced he would resign, effective the next day — the only U.S. president ever to do so.
2000 — The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, the first sub to sink a ship in wartime, was raised from Charleston Harbor after 136 years.
2008 — The Beijing Olympics opened in spectacular fashion on 08/08/08.
Now, let's set the dial back to 1983…
⏪ REWIND: 1983 Ronald Reagan is president, a first-class stamp is 20 cents, gas is about $1.24 a gallon — and MTV is rewiring what "famous" means.
📰 The Headlines History is a few weeks off: on August 30, the shuttle Challenger will lift off in the program's first night launch, carrying Guion Bluford — about to become the first African American in space. NASA and the country are counting down.
🎬 At the Movies Still the ticket of the summer: Return of the Jedi. The final chapter of the original Star Wars trilogy — Ewoks, Jabba, and all — has been packing theaters since May.
🎵 On the Charts Refusing to budge from #1 is "Every Breath You Take" by The Police — eight weeks at the top, a stalker's song everyone hears as a love song.
🏆 In Sports Today in Helsinki, at the first-ever World Championships in Athletics, a 22-year-old named Carl Lewis wins the 100 meters — the opening statement of a career that will define the next decade of track and field.
🏰 The Disney Vault Disney has planted its flag overseas: Tokyo Disneyland opened this spring (April 15), the company's first park outside the United States — and an instant, staggering success that will reshape how Disney grows.
— 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: a Saturday errand run on foot instead of by car is exercise that doesn't feel like exercise. Want more easy wellness reading? The free report is at ourfreehealthreport.com.
🎉 Born on an August 8th — 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 8 babies include Dustin Hoffman (1937), U2's The Edge (1961), NSYNC's JC Chasez (1976), tennis's Roger Federer (1981), and Keith Carradine (1949).
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