This Day in Pop Culture for November 29

1972: Atari Releases the Pong Video Game

Although not much more than a square-shaped “ball” and two rectangle “paddles”, the game Pong was one of the first video games. The electronic table tennis game was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise which he was given by Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari. It didn’t take long for copycat games to be made by rival companies. In 1975, Atari created a Pong game for home use which could be connected to the TV. The unit was sold exclusively by Sears. Think of it as an early version of the PlayStation.

Movies Released

• Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018)

TV Series Debuts

• Jinxed (2013)

Famous Birthdays

• 1898: C.S. Lewis (author)
• 1919: Joe Weider (weightlifter)
• 1928: Paul Simon (singer)
• 1935: Diane Ladd (actress)
• 1939: Meco (musician)
• 1949: Garry Shandling (comedian)
• 1952: Jeff Fahey (actor)
• 1954: Joel Coen (film director)
• 1955: Howie Mandel (comedian)
• 1960: Cathy Moriarty (actress)
• 1964: Don Cheadle (actor)
• 1976: Anna Faris (actress)
• 1988: Russell Wilson (football player)

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