August 25: Moon Hoaxes, Channel Swims & Born to Run

August 25 is one of those dates that refuses to sit still. It's swum oceans, launched telescopes, dropped legendary albums, and once convinced an entire city that the Moon was full of bat-people. Buckle up.

Great Feats and Even Greater Fibs

In 1875, Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, clocking in at roughly 21 hours and 40 minutes. That's a full workday plus overtime, spent doing the breaststroke through jellyfish-infested water while covered in porpoise fat. Legend. Modern man complains about walking to the fridge.

Speaking of ambitious achievements, in 1835 the New York Sun kicked off the Great Moon Hoax, publishing articles about the supposed discovery of life on the Moon. Fake news, it turns out, is not a modern invention — our ancestors were already spreading nonsense, just with fewer emojis and better penmanship. And in 1609, Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers, presumably so they could all look at the Moon and confirm there were, in fact, no bat-men up there.

Turn Up the Volume

On this day in 1975, Bruce Springsteen released his commercial breakthrough album, Born to Run. It's the record that turned a scrappy New Jersey kid into The Boss, soundtracked a million convertible road trips, and made "tramps like us" a legitimate life philosophy. Nearly fifty years later, people are still air-guitaring in traffic. Not bad for a guy who literally sang about wanting to leave town.

Happy Birthday to the Cool Kids

The August 25 birthday roster is stacked. China Anne McClain (1998) grew up on Disney Channel and glided into music and movies with the kind of ease that makes the rest of us feel like we peaked in gym class. Sharing the day is Nicki Nicole (2000), the Argentine rapper and singer-songwriter who turned bedroom recordings into international stardom.

Sports fans get Caris LeVert (1994), the American basketball player, and Max Muncy (1990), the American baseball player who swings like he's got a personal grudge against the outfield fence. And for the racing crowd, Kimi Antonelli (2006) is barely old enough to rent a car and already tearing up tracks — proving that some people are born with a lead foot and a birth certificate that makes everyone else feel ancient.

One for the History Buffs

Finally, back in 1537, the Honourable Artillery Company — now the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army — was granted a royal charter by Henry VIII. That's nearly 500 years of service, which means it has officially outlasted every gym membership you've ever bought.