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.
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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Jeffrey Totey View All
I write about pop culture, arts and entertainment in the greater Seattle area.
