August 4 Holidays

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day marks August 4 in honor of Ruth Wakefield, who invented the chocolate chip cookie in 1938 at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts — reportedly by breaking up a chocolate bar expecting it to melt into the dough, then sold the recipe to Nestlé for a lifetime supply of chocolate. Assistance Dog Day was established to honor the dogs trained to assist people with physical disabilities, visual impairments, hearing loss, diabetes, epilepsy, and PTSD — the partnerships that restore or extend human independence. International Clouded Leopard Day was established to raise awareness for the clouded leopard — a Southeast Asian wild cat whose cloud-shaped markings give it its name, and whose population is declining due to deforestation and the illegal wildlife trade. National Night Out is observed on the first Tuesday of August in the United States. A broken chocolate bar, a working harness, a clouded coat, and a neighborhood block party.