Good morning. It's August 18th — let's begin where we always do: on this very date in history.
📅 On This Day — August 18
🥧 (It's also National Ice Cream Pie Day.)
1920 — Tennessee cast the deciding vote to ratify the 19th Amendment, giving American women the right to vote. (Out of our usual window, but the day belongs to it.)
1958 — Brojen Das of what is now Bangladesh became the first Asian to swim the English Channel, winning an international race across it.
1963 — James Meredith became the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi, a year after federal marshals escorted him to class.
1969 — At dawn, Jimi Hendrix closed Woodstock with his searing solo "Star-Spangled Banner" — the festival's last, unforgettable note.
1971 — Australia and New Zealand announced they would withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
Now, let's set the dial back to 1973…
⏪ REWIND: 1973 Richard Nixon is president, a first-class stamp is 8 cents, gas is about 40 cents a gallon — and in a Bronx rec room, something brand new is being born.
📰 The Headlines A week ago, at a back-to-school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, a DJ named Kool Herc stretched the drum breaks on two turntables and got the crowd moving — the night now widely remembered as the birth of hip-hop, a sound about to change the world.
🎬 At the Movies Just opened: American Graffiti — George Lucas's warm, funny cruise through one 1962 night in a California town (yes, the very year of yesterday's issue). It'll launch Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, and a young Harrison Ford.
🎵 On the Charts At #1 is "Touch Me in the Morning" by Diana Ross — the sweeping ballad that gave the former Supreme her second solo chart-topper.
🏆 In Sports In Atlanta, Hank Aaron is chasing a ghost. At 39, "Hammerin' Hank" is piling up home runs toward Babe Ruth's untouchable 714 — he'll finish the year at 713, one swing away, with all winter to wait.
🏰 The Disney Vault Coming this fall from Disney: the animated Robin Hood — the sly fox, Little John the bear, and that "oo-de-lally" charm. Its foot-tapping Sherwood Forest is the studio's big 1973 swing.
— 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 little rhythm helps — put on one favorite song and just move while it plays. That's a complete, no-pressure workout. More easy wellness reading is at ourfreehealthreport.com.
🎉 Born on an August 18th — 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 18 babies include screen legend Robert Redford (1937), Patrick Swayze (1952), former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (1927), Edward Norton (1969), and Andy Samberg (1978).
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