The Republic of August 8 is a very large, safe nation, remarkable for its smutty television, public floggings, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed population of 401 million August 8ians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, moralistic government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 23.9%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The strong August 8ian economy, worth 26.1 trillion Cards a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Woodchip Exports, and Furniture Restoration. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 65,070 Cards, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The nation's soldiers often believe they're in the Air Force, many marriages go virtually unconsummated, artists regularly face criminal charges and art-burning parties are common, and children who display even minimal sporting aptitude are immediately assigned a personal trainer. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. August 8's national animal is the Card, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

August 8 is ranked 140,841^st in the world and 3^rd in Calendar for Most Rebellious Youth, scoring zero on the Stark-Dean Displacement Index.