Gallery: Photo Gallery: Makeshift Museum Shows Off Mario Oddities
Copyright 2009 Jesse Angelo01mario-1a
The Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Center shone bright with neon Mario colors, a welcoming warm oasis on a wet, cold November morning.
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Whether dressed in a Princess Peach costume or in an edgy, unauthorized fan art shirt, gamers came decked out in their finest Mario gear for the occasion.
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Customers entered the Mario museum in the same way the mustached plumber first discovered the Mushroom Kingdom long ago -- by entering a giant green pipe.
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The pipe theme continued inside the museum, with unique items from Mario's merchandising career laid out on pipes and inside secret blocks.
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Try to guess what this is. Lunchbox? Pencil case? No, it's a vintage Super Mario cassette tape caddy. Remember those?
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Take a Mario bubble bath, wash your hair with Princess Peach shampoo, then remove any unwanted body hair with Luigi Depilatory Cream (not pictured).
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Get dressed in your finest Mario vest and make your own cartoons with a rubber stamp set.
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On this Thermos lunchbox combo, the Marios hit the couch and play *The Legend of Zelda*. How recursive.
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Items from Japan: Super Mario World puzzle books (left) join the original 1985 Famicom version of *Super Mario Bros.*, the game that changed the world.
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Before hitting it big with home games, Nintendo was well-known for its Game & Watch handheld amusements. This Mario game let one player control both of the Bros.
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The *Super Mario Bros. 3* Walkie Talkie set lets you bark orders right into Mario's horrific contorted grimace.
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Speaking of horrific grimaces, if I saw the face on this Mario comforter staring up at me when I woke up in the middle of the night, I'd be somewhat less than comforted.
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The *Super Mario Bros.* *Super Show* was required after-school viewing for a generation of kids. These VHS tapes capture the action for all eternity, or at least until the tapes fall apart.
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*Super Mario Bros.* cake pan. This probably sounds like a great idea except when you realize that the finished product isn't going to look like much of anything unless your mom is an expert at drawing with cake icing.
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A wicked Mario Halloween costume, vintage Dr. Mario poncho and a *Super Mario Bros. 2* racing outfit complete this wall of disguises. Wait, what? There was no racing in *Super Mario 2*.
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No museum would be complete without the games themselves, including *Super Mario 1, 2,* and *3* for the 8-bit Nintendo.
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Mario's next two grand adventures, *Super Mario World* and *Super Mario 64*.
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A television monitor in one corner of the museum ran a loop of classic Super Mario TV commercials that fans probably hadn't seen since the '80s.
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Fans could finish out their Mario-themed day by getting their pictures taken with Mario-themed props and backgrounds.
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And what Mario day would be complete without some face time from the man himself?
