Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026
1850 The push-key adding machine was patented, by Du Bois Parmelee.
1943 American businessman Nolan Bushnell was born. He founded the Atari video game company in 1972 and Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza-Time Theaters.
He is credited with Bushnell’s Law: “All the best games are easy to learn and difficult to master.”
1972 Screening of airline passengers and luggage became mandatory in the U.S.
Music History:
1972 Paul Simon released his first new song without Art Garfunkel, ‘Mother and Child Reunion’, which peaked at No.4 in the US. Simon got the idea for the song’s title from a chicken-and-egg dish called Mother and Child Reunion that he saw on a Chinese restaurant’s menu.
Notable Birthdays:
Singer Bobby Brown 57
Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh (Fast Times at Ridgemont High/Breakfast Club) 64
Actress Barbara Hershey (Beaches, Hoosiers, The Natural) 77
Credit to:
Thisdayinmusic.com and Thisdaytrivia.com
