If you're one of the die-hard listeners of The Story Behind who eagerly await the episode to be released at midnight Eastern time on Thursdays -- yes, Adam, I'm talking to you — you may be wondering why it's a few hours late.

Usually, when an episode is late, it's because I'm either dealing with family things or taking too long editing. But not tonight. The reason is that I'm hopelessly addicted to a game on my phone called Toon Blast. And I was on a winning streak tonight so, yeah, not a very good excuse.

But it did give me an idea for this week's episode.

I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Pong.

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This episode was brought to you by The Story Behind Executive Producers who support the show through the Patreon Page at patreon.com/thestorybehind: Stargate Pioneer from GonnaGeek.com, Mat from the One Word, Go! Show, Linguist Sam, Diane and Denise from History Goes Bump, Dan Brenic from Netflix N' Swill, Jarrod Dunham from TheHistoryphile.net, Heather Welch from Sunshine and PowerCuts, Jason Bryant from Mat Talk Online, Gerald and Andy from Two Peas on a Podcast, Bandrew Scott from The Bandrew Says Podcast and Podcastage YouTube Channel, Adam from Everyone Has a Podcast, and Barry G, Jim Collison from The Average Guy Network, the North Omaha History Podcast and Dave Jackson from the School of Podcasting.

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Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

• Atari Pong - ComputingHistory.org
• The History Of Pong: Avoid Missing Game to Start Industry - Gamasutra.com
• Pong, Atari, and the origins of the home video game - Smithsonian
• Atari Teenage Riot: The Inside Story Of Pong And The Video Game Industry's Big Bang - Buzzfeed.com
• The Birth of Pong - Slate.com
• Pong-Story.com
• The Development Of The Video Game "Pong" Was A Training Exercise For A New Gaming Developer At Atari And Wasn't Originally Intended To Be Released - TodayIFoundOut.com

Also Mentioned:

• Toon Blast! Game (iOS/Android)
• Turn of Phrases Podcast