On August 4, the Day of the Speleologist and the Birthday of Champagne are celebrated. It is a day when events took place in different eras that affected the history of science, technology, the liberation movement, culture, and even traffic lights that are common today.
Speleologist’s Day
This date is timed to the moment when, in 1958, a group of Soviet researchers was the first in history to reach a depth of more than 1 km in the Krubera cave (later known as Voronyacha), which is now in the territory of occupied Abkhazia. Since then, this very day has become an unofficial professional holiday of speleologists.
Speleologists are not tourists, but explorers. Their main task is the study of karst rocks, cave systems, underground rivers and biota. Their work intersects with geology, biology, hydrology and even archaeology. It is often thanks to speleologists that new species of animals, remains of ancient settlements or systems that can be used to monitor climate change are discovered. In some regions, caves are of strategic importance: as natural storage, water reservoirs or archives of climate information.
Speleology has a long and developed tradition in Ukraine. Several large caving clubs operate here, in particular in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Chernivtsi and Ternopil. It is in the Ternopil region that the longest gypsum caves in Europe are located. For example, the Optimistic cave is the longest gypsum cave in the world, its explored length exceeds 260 km. It lies completely in a horizontal plane and is known for its difficult navigation. Its study has been going on for more than 50 years, and new sites are opened every year.
It is important that speleology requires extreme physical endurance, technical knowledge and complete self-sufficiency. There is no communication in the deep caves, and the ascent can take several days. In the event of an injury, help may not arrive for many hours, so even in amateur groups there are rules of medical training, survival skills and teamwork. Professional expeditions still use paper charts, carbide lamps, and modern 3D mapping equipment.
Interesting facts
In the Ozerna cave (Ternopil region), which stretches for more than 120 km, mini-lakes with a unique microbial environment are stored at a great depth. Their composition has not yet been fully studied.
In 2023, Ukrainian speleologists for the first time recorded colonies of bats migrating from the south in the Mlynka cave (also Ternopil Oblast). This may indicate climate change or the impact of war on animal migration routes.
During the active phase of hostilities in 2022, some speleologists on a volunteer basis helped rescuers, using their knowledge of underground systems in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian caves have significant potential for use as natural laboratories for studying climate change. For example, the constant temperature and absence of light allow precise measurements of carbon and isotopes.
There are documented cases when Ukrainian speleologists during expeditions in caves were underground without coming to the surface for more than 14 days.
In the Carpathians there are vertical caves more than 200 m deep, which are explored only with the use of climbing equipment. Some of them still haven’t reached the end.
Champagne birthday
August 4 is unofficially considered the birthday of champagne — sparkling wine that has become synonymous with celebration, luxury, and a symbol of France. It was on this day in 1693, according to legend, that the Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon allegedly tasted sparkling wine made in the French region of Champagne for the first time. He is credited not with the creation of the wine itself, but with the improvement of the method of its production.
In fact, sparkling wine existed before Pérignon, particularly in the Languedoc region, and even earlier in Italy. The specialty of Champagne wine was something else: harsh climatic conditions, limestone soils and two-phase fermentation in the bottle created a unique style of drink with small, persistent bubbles. It is this technology, which over time became known as the “méthode champenoise”, and became what the world now perceives as real champagne.
Only wine produced in the region of the same name in France, in compliance with strict standards, can legally bear the name “champagne” in Europe. Other producers outside this region must use the terms “sparkling wine” or “traditional method wine”.
Champagne became a cult drink in the 18th century. The French aristocracy, and later the courts of other countries, made it an integral attribute of social life. The Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, and Bollinger brands not only sold wine, but shaped style. In the 20th century, champagne became a symbol of triumph — it was opened on sports podiums, in movies, at weddings, and during major political events.
Interesting facts
Dom Pérignon was blind already in his old age, so he determined the quality of wine by taste and hearing. The legend of his exclamation “I drink the stars!” — a fiction of the 19th century, first appeared in advertising.
A bottle of champagne can withstand pressure up to 6 atmospheres, which is three times more than a car tire. That is why the bottles have thick glass and are closed with a cork with a wire tie.
In the USSR, “champagne” became a brand of mass culture. The famous “Soviet champagne” was produced by the method of tank fermentation, a technology different from the classic French one.
The most expensive bottle of champagne in the world is “Goût de Diamants” (Taste of diamonds), valued at more than 1.5 million euros. The reason is not in the wine itself, but in the diamond insert on the white gold label.
There is an indentation at the bottom of the champagne bottle – punt. It arose as a technological necessity due to high pressure and helps to distribute it evenly in the bottle. In addition, it is convenient for serving.
In the 2010s, 168 bottles of champagne from the 19th century were found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea in a sunken ship. After lifting, a part was tasted – the wine was preserved and turned out to be suitable for consumption, although with a very specific taste.
The famous gesture of opening champagne with a saber — sabrage — comes from the Napoleonic era. Cavalrymen celebrated victories by breaking the neck of a bottle with a blade.
Historical events on this day
1492 – Christopher Columbus started his first expedition to find a shorter sea route to India. She started from the port of Palos de la Frontera. About 90 people were on board the three ships – “Santa Maria”, “Pinta” and “Niña”. As a result, the expedition led to the discovery of America, although Columbus himself believed until the end of his life that he had reached the shores of Asia.
1687 – Ivan Mazepa was elected hetman of Left Bank Ukraine at the Cossack Council in Kolomak. After his election, he signed the Kolomatsky Articles with Moscow, which limited autonomy, but Mazepa himself gradually built an internal policy with elements of independence, strengthened power, developed education, economy, and architecture.
1693 – The Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon, steward of the monastery of Hautvilliers in the Champagne region, first described the process of creating sparkling wine with small bubbles. This date is considered the symbolic birthday of champagne. Although the technology was known before, it is Perignon who is credited with perfecting it and conceptualizing it as an art.
1777 – In London, retired cavalryman Philip Astley opened the world’s first circus. It was an amphitheater with a circular arena for horse tricks. The idea of combining acrobatics, dressage, juggling and music in a single spectacle started a new entertainment tradition that later spread throughout Europe.
1914 – The Union of the Liberation of Ukraine was created in Lviv, the first Ukrainian political organization that set the goal of creating an independent Ukrainian state. SVU operated in the conditions of the First World War, had support among Ukrainian emigrants, published a press, campaigned among prisoners of war and actively worked at the international level.
1922 – On the day of the funeral of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, 13 million telephones in North America stopped working for exactly one minute – as a sign of mourning. It was an unprecedented display of respect for a man whose invention radically changed communication in the world.
1926 – The first automatic traffic lights were installed in Piccadilly Square in the center of London. They had red and green signals and worked on the electromechanical principle. This marked the beginning of the era of regulated automobile traffic in the city, which was already experiencing a lack of order on the roads.
1934 – In the city of Kryvyi Rih, the first blast furnace was put into operation at Kryvorizhstal. This became the stage of industrialization of Donbass and central Ukraine, and gave impetus to the formation of a powerful metallurgical complex. The event was important not only economically, but also socially, contributing to the growth of the city and the emergence of new labor groups.
1962 – Nelson Mandela, one of the leaders of the African National Congress, was arrested in South Africa. He was convicted of subversive activities and spent 28 years in prison. After his release in 1990, Mandela became a symbol of the struggle against apartheid and later the first black president of South Africa.
2016 – A group of researchers from the University of Oxford has demonstrated the operation of a quantum gate with an accuracy of 99.9%, a level approaching the level required to build a full-fledged quantum computer. A quantum gate is a key unit in qubit-based computing, which processes information not only in zeros and ones, but also in superpositions. This breakthrough was an important step in the development of a new era of computing.
The invention of champagne by the French monk Dom Pérignon
On August 4, 1693, the French monk Dom Pérignon stunned the brothers of the Autvilliers monastery with a drink in which silvery bubbles rose with a soft rustle from the bottom of the glass, and the transparent foam sparkled as if alive. Since then, August 4 is considered the birthday of champagne.
Dom Pierre Pérignon served as a steward in a Benedictine abbey located in the heart of Champagne, France. In the breaks between economic concerns, he devoted himself to winemaking experiments. He combined wines from different vineyards, striving to achieve a harmonious taste – what is now called a cuvee (from the French cuvee – a blend of several wines). His search lasted almost half a century. And one day, the results of numerous attempts gave a reward: a drink appeared in the glass, foaming, sparkling and creating a completely different wine impression. Maybe it’s just a beautiful legend. The only reliable document mentioned in connection with Pérignon is a treatise on the state of winemaking in Champagne, written around 1724 by Brother Pierre.
It is interesting that the British deny the primacy of France in the creation of champagne. They believe that they were the first to perfect the method of preserving the bubbles in the bottle and did the most to popularize sparkling wine in the world. According to legend, Winston Churchill received a bottle of champagne from the hands of a butler every day around 11 a.m. — right after waking up.
Despite the debate, champagne has since become an integral part of celebrations — from coronations to weddings and casual dinners. After the First World War, France passed a law according to which only sparkling wine produced directly in the Champagne region under strict conditions can be called champagne. Some countries still do not agree with this rule, but it is valid in international law.
Emperor Napoleon believed: “When you win, you deserve champagne, when you lose, you need it.” Marlene Dietrich said: “Champagne is what makes every day feel like Sunday.” The Marquise de Pompadour claimed: “Champagne is the only drink that makes a woman beautiful after she drinks it.” Ernest Hemingway advised: “I know of no better way to spend money than to spend it on champagne.”
As the legend tells, the monk Dom Pérignon, after tasting his drink, exclaimed: “I drink the stars!” It is in his honor that one of the most famous brands of champagne – Dom Pérignon – is named.
Louis Armstrong’s birthday
On August 4, 1901, Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, a boy from a poor neighborhood who was destined to change not only music, but also the way jazz was perceived in the world.
His childhood was far from romantic: his father left the family, his mother worked as a laundress, and Louis grew up among the streets and backyards of Storyville, a neighborhood known for its poverty, prostitution and loud music. He worked on the streets selling coal and learned to survive. On New Year’s Eve, when he was 11, he fired a blank cartridge into the air — and ended up in a correctional facility for black teenagers. It was there that he first picked up a cornet and started playing in a brass band.
It was not a classical music school. It was a world of sounds that were born on the street, in a bar, in the head. His way of playing was deeply individual – he did not just perform jazz, but created it anew every time. His improvisations impressed musicians in Chicago, New York, and Paris. He had no musical education, but he had an absolute sense of rhythm, form and moment. There was no falsehood in his trumpet, only the true sound of life.
Armstrong was the first to make jazz not just a style, but a language with intonation, humor, inner drama and light. His husky voice, trumpet sounds, smile and way of speaking became recognizable all over the world. His music united white and black, poor and rich, listeners in America, Europe, Asia.
His song What a Wonderful World, recorded at the end of his life, was not typical of his repertoire, but became his musical testament. It was the voice of a person who went through the poor, racism, world wars, the change of eras – and kept the warmth in himself.
Armstrong died in 1971, but left behind not just records, but a sense of the rhythm of the century. Few people know that he was also a letter writer – he loved writing letters, joking in them, adding photos, clippings from newspapers and even collages that he made himself. And always signed “Satchmo” or “Pops”. This is how those closest to him and the whole world addressed him.
