Once upon a time, when the world was simpler and Richard Nixon inhabited the White House, a video game appeared called Pong.
It was invented by Nolan Bushnell, and since it was the first commercial video game, Nolan became an instant legend of computer history.
Pong was based on ping-pong, the purpose to hit a small white dot (the ball) with a line (the paddle) controlled by a dial or lever.
The first pong machines were single-player upright machines or two-player table-top units. Since video game arcades hadn't been thought of yet, Pong was usually found in bars.
Depending on your attention span and how much alcoholic beverage you had imbibed, a Pong game could keep you entertained for five minutes or several hours.
About the time Richard Nixon left the White House, the first home Pong machines appeared. Two kids could sit in their living room and play endless games of video ping-pong. Surprisingly, many did.
We all know the rest of the story: This simple and harmless electronic pastime transformed into increasingly realistic and violent games, from Pac-Man (munching blue monsters) to Donkey Kong (dodging falling barrels) to today's Mortal Kombat (kicking or punching body parts off your video opponents) and Doom (blasting them with assault weapons).
Pong seems a sweet memory, like streetcars and lemonade and porch swings. Perhaps that's why it's making a comeback.
''Comeback'' is probably too strong a word; Pong is officially an antique video game and as such has cachet. Playing Pong is akin to driving a Model T or watching silent movies.
During a recent visit to the Atlantic beaches, I saw an old Pong machine in a boardwalk video arcade. (I recall seeing antique nickel kinescopes on the boardwalk as a kid.)
It's not surprising that Pong machines are suddenly collectible, and there are several Web sites devoted to Pong.
To learn the history of Pong (and other antique games), visit the Classic Home Video Games Museum (http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~dgb/museum/), which covers machines made between 1972 and 1987. If you fondly remember your Atari 2600, it's worth a visit.
Or stop by What's Wrong with Pong? (http://www.geocities.com/Paris/4831/pong.ht for photos and screen shots of early Pong and Breakaway (a Pong variation) systems.
If you have an old Pong game in your attic and get an urge to play it again, technical information about old Atari machines can be found at Atari Pong Information (http://www.sponsor.net/~gchance/PongStuff/pongindex.html). Pong fanatics insist that the Atari machines were the best, despite the weird screws holding the box together.
The other reason that Pong is making a comeback is Java. The simplicity of Pong makes it a good candidate for Internet game play. There are several sites devoted to Java that have a version of Pong. For a complete directory of Java sites, see Gamelan (http://www.gamelan.com).
You can play 3-D pong at Netleaders (http://netleaders.com /Bounce.html) or play Pong with Bill Clinton's head at Bill Pong (http://www.metamor.com/pages/_play_pages/billpong.html).
And of course, there are lots of shareware Pong games. One that re-creates the simplicity of the original is Super Pong for Windows (look for SPONG.ZIP on online services). Mac users can try MongoPong (look for MONGOPONG.SIT), a $10 shareware game (which seems more like video pinball than classic Pong). DOS users can also try PongKombat, a silly (and somewhat crude) parody game that combines Pong and Mortal Kombat.
So how do we know that Pong is now officially part of Popular Culture? It even made an appearance on The Simpsons - as the preferred game of alien invaders.
E-mail Charles Brewer with questions, comments and suggestions at CBrewer@enquirer.com.