August 14, 1908: Cubs get ready to make or break the season. Also, Sexy Time: 1908 Version.

The Cubs are about to face their most pivotal point of the 1908 season. Meanwhile across the ocean in England, the world's first ever beauty pageant.

Hey ... remember back about a month ago when the 2016 Cubs were slumping and a lot of people started freaking out?

[Side note: I know you're saying "not ME ... I'm a true Cubs fan and I NEVER doubted them for a second!!! So just assume I'm talking about those other people that weren't you (though I also know you at least had a little bit of a nervous itchy bum when things were going south).]

Anyway, now it's mid-August and the 2016 Cubs are absolutely on a roll and things are good in the world once again (except in St. Louis).

Well interestingly enough, these cold and hot streaks of 2016 have a lot of comparisons to the 1908 Cubs, who just happen to be running their streaks about three weeks behind today's team. And since we Cub fans will hold on to just about any comparison to a year where we actually won the World Series, I'm gonna go ahead and jump in with two feet and accept this as "fact" of the good things to come later this year (fingers cross, knocking on wood, etc etc).

The 1908 Cubs have just finished a brutal road trip, ending it by losing seven of their last 10 games and falling four and a half games out of first place. And just like the 2016 Cubs did about a month ago, the 1908 Cubs now realize that it's time to either pee or get off the pot and either make a run for the playoff, or melt away into the oblivion of the middle of the pack.

Get ready boys!

I won't spoil it a ton for you because ... you know ... I want you to actually come back here and read about it ... but I will say that the 1908 winning streak in right around on the corner!

Meanwhile, today was a mental health day for the Cubs. They returned from their long trip back home from the east coast, and manager Frank Chance gave them all a full day off to regroup and get ready for the most pivotal home stand of the season, starting tomorrow with four games against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean on this day in 1908, we saw the world's very first beauty pageant. I'm sure if you asked Donald Trump, it was his idea and he invented it (zinger!), but in fact the Miss Folkestone Pageant took place today in Kent, England at the Pier Hippodrome (unfortunate name for a location where a bunch of women are set to gather).

Here's some of the lovely ladies who gathered to compete ...

Yeah but these ARE our swimsuits!

Miss Nellie Jarman was crowned Miss Folkestone 1908, and while I couldn't find a picture specifically listing her, the above one claims to be a gathering of Misses England, France, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Spain. And since an English woman won, I'm going to go ahead and guess that that's Miss Nellie on the far left.

Is she a looker? I have no idea. But if nothing else she's "1908 Hot," since she won and stuff.

Here's Miss Folkestone 1911 ...

I need a new stylist

Um ... I'll just assume she nailed the personality and Q&A section of the event.

Anyway in summary, the Cubs remain 58-43 on the season. Pittsburgh won today in 13 innings, so the Cubs now trail first place by four and a half games. The Phillies roll into town tomorrow for the first of four games.