Topic: Spain Honors Mario's Plumbing Excellence

[NWR_pap64]

The award arrives just in time for the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=20310

 The ASEFOSAM, a professional plumber's association located in Spain, has awarded Nintendo's mascot Mario the silver award of excellence. The character was created 28 years ago by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.    

Mario's first appearance was in the arcade title Donkey Kong, in which he battled the titular character in order to rescue his girlfriend Pauline. In Donkey Kong Mario was originally a carpenter, but his character eventually evolved into a plumber thanks to the many pipes used in the seminal 1985 NES classic Super Mario Bros. Since then, Mario has become Nintendo's mascot, appearing in many highly acclaimed titles.    

The award was given just in time for the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a new Mario adventure focused on multiplayer gaming for up to four players.

[broodwars]

Gee, what a coincidence in timing. 

[Mop it up]

How do we know Mario is any good at plumbing? Have we ever seen him fix a leaky sink? Something isn't right about this...

[broodwars]

How do we know Mario is any good at plumbing? Have we ever seen him fix a leaky sink? Something isn't right about this...

Well, he did briefly do actual plumbing (well, kind of...) in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

[Mop it up]

Ha ha, yeah. I never knew that plumbing excellence involved knowing how to pound a cork into a leaky pipe with a hammer.

[broodwars]

Ha ha, yeah. I never knew that plumbing excellence involved knowing how to pound a cork into a leaky pipe with a hammer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8u7px_GzWQ 

[Mop it up]

Who in the world is M. Bison?

[broodwars]

Who in the world is M. Bison?

That's a joke, right?    Street Fighter character...villain of a god-awful movie that's remembered best as an internet meme now...

[Mop it up]

I've never played Street Fighter. It was made into a movie though, right? I'm guessing that's where that clip is from.

[King of Twitch]

An award from a company that treats PEX plumbing line like an afterthought at best thinks that digital plumbing will never replace retail.

Shocking!

[broodwars]

An award from a company that treats PEX plumbing line like an afterthought at best thinks that digital plumbing will never replace retail.

Shocking!

Cute, and the more fun we have at this story's expense the better.   

[King of Twitch]

There lives a short plumber so vain
That won plumbing awards from Spain
 but they took it back
 after getting such flack
since broodwars just had to complain

[broodwars]

There lives a short plumber so vain
That won plumbing awards from Spain
 but they took it back
 after getting such flack
since broodwars just had to complain

This piece seems a puff
Both sad and silly to read.
Zap needs to chill out.

[MoronSonOfBoron]

Mario has certainly done more to raise the dignity of the plumber profession than our blue-collar buttcrack stereotypes have.

[ShyGuy]

Limerick, check
Haiku, check
Next up, Iambic Pentameter

[Chozo Ghost]

I wonder if kids who grew up with Mario during the 80s and 90s became more likely to become plumbers by trade as a result of the games, tv shows, and of course the movie. My guess is probably not by a significant margin, but it would be interesting to see statistics or whatever.

I also wonder if parents became more likely to name their children "Mario" or even "Luigi" as a result of the franchise... I'm pretty sure that in the English speaking world these names would probably be largely unknown otherwise.

[Arbok]

I also wonder if parents became more likely to name their children "Mario" or even "Luigi" as a result of the franchise... I'm pretty sure that in the English speaking world these names would probably be largely unknown otherwise.

There were several Marios at my school, and I doubt the parents would have been influenced by Donkey Kong (which was the only Mario game out, or Mario Bros in the case of some of the younger ones I suppose). Not discounting what you are saying, but Mario was not all that unheard of in my experience as a name. I have never seen someone with the name Luigi, though.