Stuff your brain with some nuggets of knowledge about everyone’s favorite plumber.
Fact!
Mario got his big break in the 1981 arcade game, Donkey Kong, where he must save his girlfriend Pauline from a rampaging gorilla. At the time, however, Nintendo called him Jumpman.
Fact!
Plumbing wasn’t his first occupation. In Donkey Kong, Mario…err…Jumpman’s a carpenter.
Fact!
Mario’s full name is Mario Mario.
Fact!
Long after the infamous 16-bit war, former rivals Sega and Nintendo agreed to pit Mario and Sonic against one another in the Wii offering, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. However, this isn’t the last time the world’s biggest video game mascots will square off. They’ll also come to blows in next year’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Fact!
Don’t call them twins. Mario is actually older than his brother Luigi.
Fact!
Mario is named after Nintendo of America’s former landlord, Mario Segale.
Fact!
He was also played by Bob Hoskins, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, in the live action film, Super Mario Bros.
Fact!
Nintendo lists Mario’s height at five feet. His size doesn’t stop him from dunking basketballs, however.
Fact!
Mario’s signature “Itsa me” voice comes from Charles Martinet, who first voiced the character in the 1995 PC game, Mario’s FUNdamentals.
Fact!
Mario first encounters animal suits in the 1990 NES blockbuster Super Mario Bros. 3, where he transforms into a frog and raccoon, among other creatures.
