> Hottest day recorded, likely since 1871 (1), but actually we don't know because the article doesn't offer that information. The Earth has been around much longer though.

Why does it matter how long the earth has been around? We're not talking about the hottest day of all time (remember that for a long time the earth had a molten crust), we're specifically talking about the hottest recorded day. It sounds like you're putting it as a gotcha when it's just the topic.