Many Super Mario fans may remember the weird nipple-related speedruns, but many more may never have expected to see the speed of Mario compared to Usain Bolt, a world record holder and Olympic hero. Widely considered to be the fastest sprinter of all time, Bolt reigned as Olympic Games champion across three Olympic competitions in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4 x 100 meters relay.
Moreover, Bolt's speed has been calculated at 44.5 KM/H in a race, which is about 27.6 MPH. But, according to a recent study by Pedro Henrique Evers, a Logistic student from Joinville in Santa Catarina, the hero of the Super Mario franchise tops even Usain Bolt. The study, entitled "The Physics of Super Mario World," states that while the Mushroom Kingdom obeys the laws of kinematics, its landmass is bigger than Jupiter, so its gravitational acceleration is 5.5 times higher than Earth.
Per the study, Mario manages to run at a speed of 52 KM/H, or 32.3 MPH. Moreover, when adjusted for the difference in gravitational acceleration, Mario would jump at an astounding 28 meters in height, wherein the Mushroom Kingdom Mario jumps at 6 meters in height. The latter number still beats the highest jump record on Earth, which is for 2.45 meters. Check out a comparative chart below:
Of course, Mario isn't faster than a lion or a car, but the comparisons are interesting to note. It's worth mentioning that players don't even need to jump in order to beat Super Mario Odyssey, and while's that not likely related to the physics of the world, it's interesting to know the powerful presence of speed and jumping in Mario games compared to the real world.
Evers and his teacher, Diego Duarte, will be presenting the paper at the XII Physics Encounter in July. With Mario rumored to appear in Wreck-It Ralph 2, fans of the franchise that have been around since the arcade game Donkey Kong in 1981 are likely to smile knowing that Mario is still super relevant today, in both popular culture and scientific research.
But, of course, Mario can't actually be faster than Usain Bolt, as one is a real person and the other not. That doesn't, however, make the science behind the claim any less intriguing.
Super Mario Odyssey is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Manati Games