Lonny6654
(Lonny6654)
1
Today in History:
June 27, 1972
Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded Atari, a company that would go on to ignite an entire industry and forever change the way we play, connect, and imagine.
Atari’s first creation, Pong, wasn’t just a game—it was a cultural phenomenon. As the first commercially successful video game, Pong introduced the world to the magic of interactive entertainment. It was simple, addictive, and groundbreaking. With its success, Atari laid the foundation for what would become the modern video game industry.
Just five years later, in 1977, Atari launched the Video Computer System (VCS)—later known as the Atari 2600. This home console brought arcade-style gaming into living rooms across America and beyond, sparking a home gaming boom that would define a generation.
Before the infamous video game crash of 1983, Atari had become the fastest-growing company in U.S. history. For a time, the name “Atari” was synonymous with video games themselves—a symbol of innovation, fun, and the limitless potential of digital play.
Happy Birthday, Atari. Thanks for the game.
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Also of interest on June 27th
- 1895 – The inaugural run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
- 1898 – The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.
- 1954 – The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, the Soviet Union’s first nuclear power station, opens in Obninsk, near Moscow.
- 1977 – Constitution for the Federation of Earth was adopted by the second session of the World Constituent Assembly, held at Innsbruck, Austria.
- 1982 – Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final research and development flight mission, STS-4.
- 2013 – NASA launches the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph space probe to observe the Sun.
- 2017 – A series of powerful cyberattacks using the Petya malware target websites of Ukrainian organizations and counterparts with Ukrainian connections around the globe.
Births on This Day
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1930 – Ross Perot, American businessman and politician (died 2019)
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1937 – Joseph P. Allen, American physicist and astronaut
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1949 – Vera Wang, American fashion designer
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1951 – Julia Duffy, American actress
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1966 – J. J. Abrams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
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1974 – Christian Kane, American singer-songwriter and actor
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1975 – Tobey Maguire, American actor
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1984 – Khloé Kardashian, American model, businesswoman, and radio host
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1986 – Sam Claflin, British actor
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1986 – Drake Bell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (please do not soapbox the Spark! over this, I left it in as his story is interesting. Trailer for Dark side of the 90’s: Quiet on the Set)
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1989 – Matthew Lewis, English actor
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1999 – Chandler Riggs, American actor (Caaaaarl)
Deaths on This Day
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1996 – Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer (born 1909)
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2001 – Jack Lemmon, American actor (born 1925)
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2002 – John Entwistle, English singer-songwriter, bass guitarist, and producer (born 1944)
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2004 – George Patton IV, American general (born 1923)
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2015 – Chris Squire, English musician (bass guitarist), singer and songwriter, member of the rock band Yes (born 1948)
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2018 – Joe Jackson, American manager, father of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson (born 1928)
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2024 – Martin Mull, American actor (born 1943)
Holidays Today
June 27 | Holidays, Birthdays, Events
The Funnies:
AI Contribution of the Day:
Copilot
Quote of the Day:
Comic of the Day:
Wrong Hands | Cartoons by John Atkinson. ©John Atkinson, Wrong Hands
Inspirobot Always Controversial, Occasionally Inspirational Quote of the Day:
In case you missed yesterdays airdropped Spark! by @jimender2, you can catch it here.
What I am listening to today:
37 Spice ups
Here’s a strong claim for the Ox being the best Bass Guitar player ever… this is The Who with “Won’t get fooled again”, but with his bass track isolated.
And here’s the whole band playing the same track:
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Pong may look very basic these days, but back then, it was revolutionary. I have to thank Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney for their contributions to the gaming industry as a whole.
I decided to get married years ago, no regrets.
Why does Inky look horrified by the contents of Pacman’s mouth? What does he see? 
Since Spark! thread aren’t written on weekends, I will wish Mel Brooks a happy 99th birthday for tomorrow.
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Ah, nothing quite like the days of dropping pockets full of quarters into games at the arcade. We stayed at an Air BnB last week and they had one of those multi-game machines. I managed to take over the high scores on Centipede.
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I got to see The Who on their 1996 Quadrophenia tour. Entwistle is an AMAZING bassist.
Did you know the video for ‘Leave It’ by Yes had about 20 or more different versions to it? In the spring of 1984, MTV released a new one each day at 3PM EST. I remember rushing home from the school bus stop each day trying to see it. All were relatively similar with the 5 members shown with the white background, but variations of the effects.
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NULL
(NULL)
6
DRIVE YOUR CORVETTE TO WORK DAY
Would if I could, especially if I could have the one in that picture!
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tim-smith
(Tim-Smith)
7
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can rent it for the evening.
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Had the young lad understood a few things that he learns later on, he wouldn’t have been sad at all! He pinned all his hopes (his, expectations, if you will) on one thing and got so focused on that, he forgot that he had a whole new world of opportunity opened right in front of him…his act of kindness set off a course of events that changed his life, but he locked himself down instead of learning to fly.
Also, if he’d had half the sense of an adult, he’d have told the old lady about the man he helped…maybe in easing her suffering, he’d have found greater purpose? Who knows…it’s just a story after all.
10 Spice ups
I can’t see that quote without hearing Weird Al:
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Actually Inspirobot, I can!!
9 Spice ups
somedude2
(somedude2)
15
Good thing we didn’t elect him president, he’d be dead now..
9 Spice ups
tryceps1
(tryceps1)
16
Crazy that him and another amazing bassist in Chris Squire died on the same day, albeit different years. My favorite songs/basslines from him have to be this one and South Side of the Sky.
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Who does not make glasses I learned yesterday when I referred to my wife’s new Vera Bradley glasses as “Vera Wangs”.
Who was not shoeless.
Who did not invent Patton Leather shoes.
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Didn’t know that was your initials.
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mike-eaton
(Mike (Eaton))
19
I was being aspirational.
6 Spice ups
Isn’t that when you breath food or drink bits into your lungs? 
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