Mario Kart Vandalism Powers Up Your Ride to Work

[gregoryg]

Mario Kart Vandalism Powers Up Your Ride to Work

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A clever vandal in Portland has painted Mario Kart power-ups on a bike lane, making real life a bit more like Excitebike.

After a few rounds of any Mario Kart game, real life seems so dull. Can you imagine what it would be like if you could grab a mushroom for a speed boost while running late for work, or how fun it would be to shoot a red shell at the slow-moving driver in front of you? At least one Oregon native has considered the possibility, painting various items from the game on a bike lane in Portland.

The local news report, on the right, is worth watching for the awkward narration from a news anchor who has clearly never played a Mario Kart game. Also chuckle-worthy is the fact that every single biker swerves around the banana, but they all hit the boost arrows.

Alas, while these items won't grant any actual powers, at least these Portland bikers can pretend that they're in a round of Mario Kart. That should keep a few of them happy while they wait for the 3DS version to come out next year.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=261304]

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[Z of the Na'vi]

Thank god the vandal didn't paint a blue shell, or even one of those yellow and black bombs that tend to pop up in Mario Kart 64. That would've ended in disaster.

Either way, that is funny. It was indeed humorous to see the bikers avoid the banana peel like that.

If one of them manages to hit it, then they can always waggle their handlebars quickly to recover!

 

[Arkhangelsk]

If they did that here in Sweden, I'd ride my bike more often.

 

[Weaver]

Hahaha this is fantastic. IMO the city shouldn't remove them
I think the best part was just the news anchor trying to present it like it was actually newsworthy.

 

[Kajt]

I love how they avoid the mushrooms but not the speed boosts. The world needs more pranks like that.

 

[Jared]

I hope they keep them! Thats fantastic! Heh, making life just thaty lil more colourful

 

[Proteus214]

I really hope they don't remove them. The symbols are completely innocent really.

 

[chinangel]

I love how they avoid the mushrooms but not the speed boosts. The world needs more pranks like that.

here here

 

[Withall]

Wow. That's today's funny news. Awesome prank. Hope they let the symbols stay.

 

[Queen Michael]

Aw, just listen to the cute way that news anchor tries to seem like he knows anything about what he's talking about when he's explaining what the symbols mean. I'm not trying to be sarcastic, it's genuinely cute.

 

[Trivun]

Hahaha this is fantastic. IMO the city shouldn't remove them
I think the best part was just the news anchor trying to present it like it was actually newsworthy.

Heh, that's nothing compared to what the BBC here in the UK did on a slow news-day. When Bioshock 2 was released, there was so little news one day that they tried to spin an entire story and presentation about it's release (including a Zero Punctuation sample and Escapist name-check) and an interview with a BBC guy who happened to be part of Technology news-team or something. Apparently there hadn't been enough explosions in the Middle East so they just stuck a Bioshock 2 release story on instead. Made for interesting viewing though, to say the least...

As far as these symbols go, here in Leeds the council have just built the UK's first Velocampus (apparently a very common site in Holland and Denmark), where you can hire bikes and stuff, helmets, basically cater to all your cycling needs. It's by the train station, if any Yorkshire Escapists want to check it out. Anyway, it would be pretty awesome if they'd done similar signs and symbols on our streets, near the Velocampus. Just saying...

 

[lafona]

so, let me get this straight... if i hit a "mushroom", it will give me a "speed boost"? Kids these days and their new-fangled hoola-hoops and their pokeemans.

 

[Evilsanta]

That is so fucking awesome! I would enjoy my bike riding more if that would happen here.

 

[Treblaine]

How do you know it was an Oregon Native?

Banksy's American Adventure?

 

[AndyFromMonday]

It's not vandalism when it's FUCKING AWESOME!

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

They better not remove those symbols. They aren't hurting anyone and people seem to enjoy them.

 

[lee1287]

Lol. Oh i do like america sometimes =]

 

[XJ-0461]

I hope the city doesn't remove them. They're a little thing that makes the ride to work interesting, and they're not offensive. the only problem is that they could say that they distract the bikers. I really hope they leave them there.

 

[ejb626]

Has anybody noticed that the bikers seem to actually be avoiding the banana peels

EDIT: Yes they have apparently at the top of the page.

 

[Jaebird]

Unless some idiot takes all these icons too seriously, to the point where he/she avoid a banana peel and weaves into oncoming traffic, I don't see the harm in it.