Good morning. It's August 13th — let's begin where we always do: on this very date in history.
📅 On This Day — August 13
🤚 (It's also International Left-Handers Day.)
1961 — East Germany sealed the border between East and West Berlin overnight and began building the Berlin Wall, a barrier that would divide the city for 28 years.
1969 — Fresh from the Moon, the Apollo 11 astronauts rode through a ticker-tape parade in New York City and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom that night.
1979 — St. Louis's Lou Brock lined his 3,000th career hit, a single off the Cubs' Dennis Lamp, joining one of baseball's most exclusive clubs.
1995 — Yankees legend Mickey Mantle died at 63, and a generation that grew up imitating his swing paused to remember The Mick.
2004 — The Summer Olympics returned to Athens, their ancient birthplace, opening in a stadium roar 108 years after the first modern Games.
Now, let's set the dial back to 1978…
⏪ REWIND: 1978 Jimmy Carter is president, a first-class stamp is 15 cents, gas is about 65 cents a gallon — and somewhere over the Atlantic, three men are drifting toward history.
📰 The Headlines Right now, high above the ocean, the Double Eagle II is airborne — Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman lifted off from Presque Isle, Maine on August 11 in a helium balloon, aiming to become the first to cross the Atlantic by balloon. (They'll touch down near Paris in four days.)
🎬 At the Movies One word: Grease. Since June, Travolta and Newton-John have owned the summer — the film's already the highest-grossing movie musical ever made, and the drive-ins are still packed.
🎵 On the Charts At #1 is "Three Times a Lady" by The Commodores — Lionel Richie's tender ballad, the group's very first chart-topper.
🏆 In Sports Cincinnati's Pete Rose just gave the nation a summer-long thrill: his 44-game hitting streak ended August 1, tying the modern National League record and stopping 12 shy of DiMaggio's untouchable 56.
🏰 The Disney Vault In theaters this summer: The Cat from Outer Space — Disney's featherlight sci-fi comedy about a stranded alien feline named Jake, all antigravity collars and small-town charm.
— 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: on a warm August day, the easiest wellness habit there is might be a tall glass of water first thing — before the coffee, before anything.
🎉 Born on an August 13th — 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 13 babies include the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock (1899), Hawaii's own Don Ho (1930), singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg (1951), Danny Bonaduce (1959), and actor Sebastian Stan (1982).
(Got this from a friend? Subscribe free at yesterdaytoday.news.)
Yesterday Today — A NovaOpsLab Briefing Series 345 Route 9 South, Suite 358, Englishtown, NJ 07726 You subscribed at yesterdaytoday.news. [Unsubscribe anytime]. Yesterday Today may earn a commission from partner links.