why did my record player slow down, speed up, then go back to normal?

I actually went to play a record today, and I had to press the (electronic) buttons multiple times before it did its function. There was no speed swell, though.

I am thinking that the buttons are corroded.

I put myself through engineering school fixing problems like this. Its very common on older turntables. The speed selector switch can have corrosion, as well as whatever controls might exist for setting the speed on both 33 and 45.

If this is an older turntable with variable speed, one explanation might be that the speed controls or the speed selector switch are developing corrosion. If this is so, you can expect future events and more often.

Another explanation is a brief power outage.