Written by Peter Mai

Everybody knows the NES classic Super Mario Bros. Everybody–your parents, little sister, and even your grandparents should be able to recognize the game by its iconic title. Although you may have beaten the game over and over again since its release in 1986, there are, amazingly, some things that you may still not have noticed about this classic.

1. The graphics for the bushes and clouds are the same, with different colors

2. The Minus World

The Minus World is a glitch in Super Mario Bros. By passing a solid wall at the end of world 1-2, it is possible to travel to “World -1,” also known as “Minus World” or “World Negative One.” The Minus World is a glitched version of World 1-3 that is underwater, contains Bowser, Hammer Bros and multiple Princess Toadstools. Creepy!

3. Mario was named after the landlord of Nintendo of America’s office

In 1980, Nintendo of America was suffering from financial troubles and had a difficult time covering the costs of their American operations. Mario Seagale, landlord to Nintendo of America’s HQ, visited the team pissed off over their late rent payment. Possibly as a bargaining tool for their late payment, the Nintendo team ended up naming their flagship character “Mario” after Seagale.

Mario was only known previously as Jumpman.

4. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto was inspired by Alice in Wonderland

Isn’t it obvious? In Alice in Wonderland, Alice runs around a colorful land nibbling on mushrooms that make her her grow and shrink. Here, she talks to giant turtles and insects, and chases rabbits.

The similarities are not based on conjecture, either. Miyamoto said so himself, according to a 2005 interview with Business Week:

“Do you remember how you came up with Super Mario Bros.?

It started with a simple idea. I thought: “I wonder what it would be like to have a character that bounces around. And the background should be a clear, blue sky.” I took that idea to a programmer, and we started working on it.

Mario ended up being too big, so we shrank him. Then we thought, “What if he can grow and shrink? How would he do that? It would have to be a magic mushroom! Where would a mushroom grow? In a forest.” We thought of giving Mario a girlfriend, and then we started talking about Alice in Wonderland.”

5. Contrary to popular belief, Mario hits blocks with his fist, not his head

6.  Mario wears a hat because Miyamoto can’t draw hair

Shigeru Miyamoto designed Mario wearing a hat because he found drawing hair difficult. He also drew Mario with a mustache because a mustache was easier to see than a mouth with 8-bit graphics.

7. Super Mario Bros was released in Japan on Friday the 13th

8. “All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros.”

No, All Night Super Mario Bros is not a name of a video game-themed porno. Instead, it is a very rare version of the game based on the popular Japanese radio show All Night Nippon. The game, released only in Japan for the Famicom Disk System, was a promotional item given away by the show in 1986. The game replaced sprites of the enemies, mushroom retainers and various other characters to look like famous music Japanese musicians and celebrities.

9.  Why Does Mario Wear Overalls?

Miyamoto designed Mario with overalls that contrast with his sleeves to help in the animation of his arm motions. The sleeves are of the same color of his shirt and without the overalls the arms would disappear during the movements. Overalls: Stylish and practical.

10. Bowser’s fireball is backwards!