Twenty-five years ago, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto created the video game Super Mario Bros., which has since sold millions of copies and spawned numerous spin-offs. Here are some highlights from the history of the computerized plumber:
1974—In a bizarre incident that will come to shape his development of Mario years later, Miyamoto accidentally smacks his head against a brick outcropping and some gold coins fall out
1981—Kept up all night by a leaky flush toilet mechanism, Miyamoto fantasizes about having a giant ape pelt his shiftless plumber with barrels
1986-1993—In the so-called ‘Mario mania’ years, Sega fails time and time again to score a hit with its goateed Croatian electrician character, Milorad
1991—Super Mario World introduces Yoshi, a complicated allegory for the state of Japanese politics
1994—Following the box-office failure of the Super Mario Bros. movie the previous year, the script for a Mario Kart–based sequel is hastily rewritten into the film Speed, with Dennis Hopper reprising his role as the villain
1994—Hoping to replicate the success of Mario’s brother Luigi, a third brother, Dan, joined them briefly before giving up the video game life and going back to his family and financial planning job in Pasadena
1999—Mario is licensed to the State of New York for use in its plumbers certification exam-prep software
2005—Mario celebrates his 100 billionth death
