Mariology

Whilst doing some research for a previous post, I found myself reading the Wikipedia page about Mario (of Super Mario Bros. fame of course). Needless to say Wikipedia is an amazing repository of information that harnesses the collective knowledge of millions of interneterati but I was still amazed at the amount of information there was about this video game character. Here is a list of select facts that you may or may not know about everyone's favorite Mario:

• Mario was originally known as Jumpman in Japan
• Mario was named after the landlord, Mario Segali, of Nintendo of America's Seattle home in 1981
• Mario's full name is believed to be Mario Mario, while his brother's full name is believed to be Luigi Mario, thus making them the "Mario Bros"
• Older incarnations of Mario have him living in Brooklyn but newer games suggest that he grew up in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom
• Mario's creator Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that Mario wears a cap because he finds it difficult to draw hair
• The Super Mushroom that enlarges Mario was inspired by the "Eat me" cakes from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland
• Mario has appeared on his own television show, comic books, and in a feature film where he was played by Bob Hoskins

Bet you learned something new just now. And if you didn't, well you need to get out more.