What was going on when I was born?

A staff report to Governor Carey on legislation to require a 5-cent deposit on bottles and cans has concluded that many of the arguments advanced by the beverage industry against the bill are ''unfounded.'' Aides to the Governor said the report, a detailed analysis of cost projections by brewers, bottlers and distributors, sets the stage for a possible reversal this year of his previous opposition to the measure. The report will be released for public comment today. Last year, Governor Carey in effect killed the bill when he announced that he was opposed to it on the eve of a vote by the Assembly Commerce Committee. He said not enough was known about its ultimate cost to consumers, bottlers and distributors.

When a Boeing 747 belonging to an American airline crosses the Atlantic, the luggage, cargo and mail will, as a general rule, be unloaded by six baggage handlers. To do the same job on the same kind of plane flying the same route, British Airways will dispatch a crew of 15. British Airways, which is owned by the British Government, does not compare so unfavorably in all respects, but by every accepted overall measure of efficiency it stands last among the world's biggest airlines, with productivity about half that of major airlines of the United States. By such statistics, the story of the troubled carrier can at least in part be told.

S.C. Johnson & Son Ltd. moved its regional sales and marketing operations to this strategically placed Mediterranean island just nine months ago, and already its sales have risen by more than 20 percent. ''There just isn't anywhere else that can compete as a base for our needs,'' said Victor B. Woodfield, sales director for the Middle East and Africa for the maker of Johnson's Wax and other products. The sales and marketing unit of the Racine, Wis., corporation is one of more than 1,200 foreign companies that have set up shop on Cyprus to take advantage of its proximity to Middle East markets and its tax incentives. The Cypriots call them ''offshore'' companies.

Ted Weiss does not want to go to Queens. Olga A. Mendez does not want to leave Roosevelt Island. Thomas J. Bartosiewicz says, ''I kind of like Staten Island, but ...'' But Mr. Bartosiewicz would kind of like to continue representing the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn in the State Senate and not have to search for new, farflung constituents, as is proposed by the cartographers working on the state political map. Reapportionment - redrawing the maze of political lines - will decide how people are to be governed for the next decade. As important as that is to the people who will be represented, it is a good deal more so to the state legislators and members of Congress who will, or will not, be doing the representing.

Retail sales in New York City continued at a slow pace in February, rising only 5 percent from February last year, a spot-check of the big retailers showed. It was also the second consecutive month in which the higher-priced, more service-oriented stores had sales gains well below their usual performances. Although the average sales gain in February fell below the 7 percent inflation factor in typical department store goods, the month's results were appreciably better than those of January, when the same stores had an average sales decline of 2.8 percent below the January 1981 level.

President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt was quoted today as saying he has postponed a scheduled trip to Israel because of Prime Minister Menachem Begin's insistence that he visit to Jerusalem. ''The Israelis have said that if I don't visit Jerusalem, then I shouldn't come,'' Mr. Mubarak told Al Siyasa, a Kuwaiti newspaper, in an interview reprinted by two Cairo newspapers. ''It is a matter of principle for us.''

Mark Branch, who as a junior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the basketball captain and the leading scorer this season, is an only-child who knows the value of counseling from older friends. ''When I was growing up in Raleigh, N.C., I used to play games with bigger kids,'' he said. ''They gave me tips about sports, but they also impressed upon me the importance of getting an education and working hard. I've always appreciated how they helped me with things other than sports.''

It was a very ugly scene: The Nets had suffered through their most excruciating loss of the season, 98-97, to the Seattle SuperSonics, on a controversial call in the final seconds. And the 15,432 fans were unleashing their most demonstrative emotional display of the season against the officials, Earl Strom and Barry Rogan. Sam Lacey of the Nets stood at midcourt, vehemently yelling at Rogan, who is in his second year as a full-time referee and who had made the final call. As the referees were escorted from the court, surrounded by Byrne Meadowlands Arena security men, a barrage of objects flew from the stands. Finally, Strom turned to the crowd that had followed them beneath the stands and said, ''If you don't all leave him alone, I'll turn everybody in.''

Republicans must reaffirm their commitment to black Americans by making it plain that the party supports shortterm government help for blacks in need as well as their long-term advancement, a group of party leaders agreed today. Acknowledging a traditional distrust by black voters of his party, Representative Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma said: ''Sometimes the problem is misperceptions. Sometimes the problem is not misperception but perception.'' Representative Carroll A. Campbell Jr. of South Carolina warned that by failing to address blacks' needs specifically, Republicans had made a mistake that was often ''exploited by the other side.''

International U.S. ties with Cuba and Nicaragua could be normalized as a result of ideas and proposals made by Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. at a meeting in New York with Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda of Mexico, Mr. Castaneda told reporters following the meeting, his second with Mr. Haig in a week. He said the proposals could lead to a ''series of agreements'' for normalizing relations. Mr. Haig, in a separate news conference, was less specific than Mr. Castaneda but said that the meeting had been ''extremely helpful.'' (Page A1, Column 6.) Egypt's President has put off his visit to Israel because of Prime Minister Menachem Begin's insistence that he also visit Jerusalem, according to a Kuwaiti newspaper. President Hosni Mubarak had wanted to visit Israel before the final Israeli withdrawal from Sinai on April 25, but the Cabinet warned him he was not welcome if he avoided Jerusalem. ''It is not protocol for a state to impose on a visiting chief of state the program of his visit,'' Mr. Mubarak said. (A1:4-5.)

Producer prices are down for the first time in six years, and economists view this as a portent of lower inflation and consumer prices, which have not declined in more than 16 years. The inflation rate is expected to hold steady for the next two months. (D1.)

''We feel hopeful that a process of negotiations may be starting in the Caribbean.'' - Jorge Castaneda, Foreign Minister of Mexico. (A1:6.)