Mario Quiz Cards
The Mario Quiz Cards are a set of informational quiz cards licensed by Nintendo and published by Atlas Editions in 1995. They follow a specific format that usually features an illustration of a Mario franchise character with a word bubble that asks a multiple choice question. A separate illustration follows that features some of the characters and is related to the question. On the back of each card is the answer to the question, along with a detailed explanation accompanied either by a photograph or an illustration. The cards cover a wide variety of topics, including science, history, astronomy, and geography.
Occasionally, the cards attempt to reveal something about the characters that is not shown in the games of the Mario franchise, or depict them performing activities that Nintendo (particularly Nintendo of America) would never allow them to do in the games, which are marketed primarily to children. Cards that depict these activities include:
- A card asking who Cyrano de Bergerac was shows a more romantic side to Mario's personality than is shown in games.
- Mario shows himself to be capable of playing kendo in a card asking what weapon that martial art uses.
- On a card asking why it is important to know one's blood type, Dr. Mario reveals Princess Peach to be blood type O positive.
- Two religion-related cards, one shows Mario reading the Quran and praying to Allah (God in Arabic), and the other shows Mario reading a Bible.
- A card asking what Greenpeace is shows Mario and Luigi protesting against nuclear weapons.
- Luigi is shown reading a history book in a card that asks when the Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler rose to power.
- Princess Peach is shown attending an organized rally for the Equal Rights Amendment.
- A card asking when Prohibition was shows Mario chasing a Goomba toting around a bottle of alcohol.
- One of the cards has Mario listening to the Fab 4, a supposed parody of The Beatles, while Mario himself sports a bowl-cut similar to one of the band members of the Fab 4. The card in question asks what important event happened in Candlestick Park on August 29th, 1966, the place and time the Beatles performed their final full public concert.
- A card asking where a person would find both the Grand Ole Opry and Graceland shows Mario wearing the iconic outfit of Elvis Presley.
- A card asking what a sweatshop is, displaying a bear character working in substandard conditions.
- Mario wearing The Cat in the Hat's trademark headwear along with Luigi holding a plate of green eggs and ham on a card about Dr. Seuss.
- Mario with a rifle and hunting dog on a question about wildlife regulation.
- Mario discovering a (presumably) magic oil lamp on a question about Arabian Nights.
Some cards interestingly use Bowser's "King Koopa" design from the cartoons, recolored to match his game counterpart. Also, one card has Luigi's clothes in Mario's colors.
Gallery
"Why is it important to know your blood type?"
"Who was Rosa Parks?"
"What is equitation?"
"What makes our bodies move?"
"How is a star born?"
"What is Christianity?"
"What is a sweatshop?"
"Why are horses shod?"
"What is Greenpeace?"
"When was Prohibition?"
"What is the ERA?"
"What is alchemy?"
"What event marked the beginning of the French Revolution?"
"What is illiteracy?"
"Who was Lawrence of Arabia?"
"Which is used to make whiskey?"
"How many quarts of blood are in the human body?"
"What do Indian women wear?"
"Why are chemical additives added to food?"
"What is a lotus?"
"In which state would you find the Grand Ole Opry and Graceland?"
"What does an ethnologist study?"
"What do airports use to ensure security?"
"Which is the pen name used by author Theodore Geisel?"
"What is karate?"
"What are firefighters' duties?"
"Why are some planets known as the outer planets?"
"What heats up a microwave oven?"
"What is used to pave roads?"
"What is carding?"
"What are Muses?"
"What is the Triple Crown in horse racing?"
"Who wrote Don Quixote?"
"What is Yoga?"
"How long have llamas been domesticated?"
"What's the highest you can score in one bowling game?"
"Who was the first movie director to win four Oscars?"
"What equipment is necessary for windsurfing?"
"What is a thoroughbred?"
"What is Japanese wrestling called?"
"Where was the kite invented?"
"To which musical-instrument family does the guitar belong?"
"To which musical-instrument family does the gong belong?"
"What are three kinds of weightlifting moves?"
"When did figure skating become part of the Olympic Games?"
"When did the first Paris-Dakar car race take place?"
"What are hennins, bowlers, and boaters?"
"What is 'show jumping' at a horse show?"
"When was abstract art invented?"
"When was the end of the silent movie era?"
"Who told the tales of The Arabian Nights?"
"What is a tom-tom?"
"What is Sherlock Holmes' favorite saying?"
"Where are the oldest known cave paintings?"
"Who was John James Audubon?"
"Who was Martha Graham?"
"How many teeth does an adult human have?"
"Which waterfalls are the largest in the Americas?"
"What's an abyss?"
"Which is the world's largest river by volume?"
"Who invented the rudder?"
"Which U.S. Presidents' faces are carved into Mount Rushmore?"
"What are ruminants?"
"Who were the first men to walk on the moon?"
"What is the Indianapolis 500?"
"Who was Che Guevara?"
"Why is Earth called the blue planet?"
"Which dinosaur could fly?"1
"Which dinosaur could fly?" (back)
"How do elevators work?"
"What is alfalfa?"
"What is a hyacinth macaw?"
"What is a finch?"
"Who is the leader of Tibet's Buddhists?"
"What's a solar eclipse?"
"Why do we have earthquakes?"
"Where do colors come from?"
"How do we hear?"
"What is the highest mountain in the world?"
"What is a volcano?"
"Why are tigers striped?"
"Is the Earth closer to the sun in the summer?"
"What are the martial arts?"
"What happened at Candlestick Park in San Fransisco, August 29, 1966?"
"In what year did Hitler take power in Germany?"
"Who was Al Capone?"
"What is a bison?"
"Are boxers and bulldogs the same type of dog?"
"What is chronology?"
"Who was Cyrano de Bergerac?"
"What is a fox terrier?"
"Where was the hottest air temperature recorded on Earth?"
"What agency is in charge of hunting regulations in the U.S.?"
!["What is the weapon used in kendo?"[sic]](https://mario.wiki.gallery/images/thumb/0/08/Kendo_quiz_card.jpg/120px-Kendo_quiz_card.jpg)
"What is the weapon used in kendo?"[sic]
- Mother's Day quiz card.jpg
"When did we start celebrating Mother's Day in the U.S.?"
"Who invented the game of basketball?"
"Why is blood red?"
"Why do we need oxygen?"
"Where are most of the world's oil reserves?"
"What is a menorah?"
"Who invented cubism?"
"In what country did the Renaissance begin?"
"What is a hang glider?"
"When was the first America's Cup boat race held?"
"What is science fiction?"
"What are sails made of?"
"What is snorkeling?"
"In what section of the orchestra does the flute belong?"
"Who founded the Boy Scouts?"
"What's the world's most important bicycle race?"
"What kinds of weapons are used in the sport of fencing?"
"What was the first big accomplishment in mountain climbing?"
"Who wrote The Little Prince?"
"Which is a characteristic of Gothic architecture?"
"What are the oldest American dolls?"
"Which are maneuvers in rock climbing?"
"Which are pieces of mountain climbing equipment?"
!["What is the weapon used in kendo?"[sic]](/File:Kendo_quiz_card.jpg)
1 - Despite the front of this card featuring artwork of a pterodactyl, the correct answer on the back of the card is "None of them"; no dinosaurs could fly, as pterodactyls were pterosaurs, not dinosaurs.
