Who doesn’t know Super Mario? The answer is obvious, everyone knows Super Mario since according to a survey he is even more famous than Mickey Mouse. But are you convinced that you really know everything about the Nintendo mascot? We test you with three curiosities about Super Mario which you definitely don’t know.
No, Mario doesn’t smash blocks with his head
We all fell for it we’ve all believed that Super Mario smashes blocks with headbutts. True? Come on, confess… but no, in reality Mario (and clearly Luigi) smash blocks using their fist, at the time of the NES however the possible animations were extremely limited and therefore understanding this detail was very difficult. Over the years the mystery has been definitively clarified.
But what does Super Mario do?
Initially the character of Mario (or rather, Jumpman) was born as a carpenter and then became a plumber, but it seems that this has not been Mario’s profession for a long time. 
In 2017, around the time of the release of Super Mario Odyssey, Nintendo revealed that Mario no longer works as a plumber:
“All-round sportsman: tennis player, baseball player, soccer player and go-kart driver, Mario does it all in the best way. By the way, it seems that a long time ago he worked as a plumber.“
According to the official character biography updated by Nintendo in 2017, Mario had at least ten different jobs: carpenter, plumber, doctor (in Dr. Mario), go-kart driver, martial arts master, sports referee, professional baseball, basketball, golf and soccer player. And of course, add us, globetrotters and saviors of princesses…
Super Mario is not Italian, but Japanese
Oh mama! Oh yes, come on, Super Mario is Italian… the name, the facial features, the typical expressions, there’s no doubt about this, Mario is 100% Italian.
But no, because apparently Super Mario is Japanese, at least according to the words of Masayuki Uemura, the designer of the NES/Famicom who, interviewed by Kotaku in 2020, let himself go to the burning revelation:
“Super Mario Bros isn’t set in Japan but the character is Japanese, even if the name Mario sounds Italian, it’s not Italian. They were good at creating this very ambiguous situation.”
Yet, Miyamoto has previously stated that Mario is “an Italian plumber who lives and works in New York.” Who tells the truth? We don’t know, but in our hearts we have no doubts: Super Mario is Italian.
Bonus: Super Mario is the best-selling video game series ever
Super Mario games have sold over 760 million copies, the series entered the Guinness Book of Records as “best-selling video game series of all time“, a goal achieved thanks to the over 200 games published from the 80s to today. 
The main games alone (2D and 3D platformers) have sold over 380 million copies and the spin-offs have also achieved great success. Second place for Tetris with almost 500 million games sold, followed by Pokemon with over 480 million games distributed.
