The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom - Kotaku Comments

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Video — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:58:04 MDT

Now is time to find the Killer Mushroom (Super Mario 2 the lost world).

Video

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Exx0dus — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:45:51 MDT

Actually it's a Fly Agaric mushroom. They've had a significant impact on various cultures and religions for the last 5,000 years, notably being used as a catalyst for [supposed] spiritual communion. Miyamoto was influenced by millennia old culture and world history and the reference was intentional, not coincidental. It seems to me naive take of this article suggests its author might try using books for more than just furniture legs.

Exx0dus

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

AcerBandit — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:29:11 MDT

I read this news slowly like a slow man who reads the news at a rate that is very slow for reading the news.

And you know what's funny? I've never once seen any of the Mario characters EVER eat a mushroom. They either run into it or raise it in the air and it glows or something. It's never consumed so even if someone were to blame Nintendo for some mushroom accident, Nintendo could just spit that information back in their faces.

AcerBandit

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:18:32 MDT

@krill:
Who said it was gaming news? You?

Brian Ashcraft

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Nessman — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:44:56 MDT

actually it's not that surprising. I grew up in Austria and it's very commonly known not to eat that specific kind of mushroom. So i think since the general public knows not to mess with it, a lawsuit is unlikely from a native at least.

Nessman

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

thephotoman — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:19:48 MDT

You know, A. muscaria is the species of fungus most commonly used for shrooms. When dried, one cap should only cause hallucinations in an adult human. The whole dying part only comes in when you try to eat them raw.

How do I know this, you ask? I was once a biology major with a roommate with a fondness for tripping on anything remotely psychedelic. Yes, he was a huge fan of Mario when he was younger, and also spent time jumping on turtles.

thephotoman

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

krill — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:10:29 MDT

What? This qualifies as gaming news? D:

Well, writing news like this is fine by me. But it sure seems weird, to someone like me, since I've seen these numerous times during my short stay here on earth.

But the mushrooms in mario sure look a lot more delicious than this creepy bastard.

krill

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

lolspaceship — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:54:24 MDT

Hallucinations?
I now understand where the inspiration for the areas in the Mario universe came from.

lolspaceship

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

InsipidWays — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:40:52 MDT

Your right this isn't news, I guess if you want news you should go read a newspaper, eh? If it isn't news than I guess it's just something brought out of the abyss to fill space. That or it was interesting to the writer, either way... if you comment on it in a "questionable" way your likely to get banned. Individualistic opinions = wrong. Well alright, whatever works I guess.

InsipidWays

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

topaz420 — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:31:13 MDT

I have to take this opportunity to tell anyone considering eating "strange" mushrooms that the safest way is to cultivate your own. Buying mushroom spores is LEGAL in the United States -- the 'magic' kind are called Psilocybe Cubensis.

topaz420

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Acunia — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:24:46 MDT

Making jokes about that thing is serious, really stay away from it.
in old days farmers used to use those mushrooms to get ride of the insects they had indoors.
they poured some milk on a plate and then added a slice of that thing in it, instant death to all of them

Acunia

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

ibitoshi — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:50:51 MDT

That's one awesome shroom. I'm guessing perhaps Miyamoto was suggesting that the entire Mario universe was just a trip after Mario accidentally ate one of these things and start stomping on rock and turtles while hitting his head jumping aimlessly.

ibitoshi

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Livvers — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:22:17 MDT

I actually ate a poisonous mushroom when I was two. I almost died. Luckily, there was a fire station close to my house, and it so happened that two guys were there an hour early for an event that night. If they hadn't been there, I would have died.

Livvers

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

ironmaiden — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:17:54 MDT

that's cool as hell... you see; its not all hate kotaku. you can be good if you want to. :-)

ironmaiden

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

MaiAri — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:07:05 MDT

Is that what's called Fly Agaric??

MaiAri

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Trowble (XBL/PSN) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:55:19 MDT

No abnormal growth and hallucinations? I'll pass.

Trowble (XBL/PSN)

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Mongoosekun — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 10:52:40 MDT

I guess no one here ever played Oblivion then. This is used to poison flys, so don't eat it. You put bits of it in a dish of water and when they eat it they die. Flies don't give you much XP however...

Mongoosekun

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Mortal-Mode — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 10:42:54 MDT

Screw that! Get me a green one!

Mortal-Mode

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

goddessakasha — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 10:26:46 MDT

Is there a baby bowser on the side of that mushroom?

goddessakasha

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

brello — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 10:21:43 MDT

Cool, cool. Now find me a tanooki suit. I, too, want to turn into a statue for a few seconds. You know, in case those damned turtles attack me again.

brello

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

golddbz2000 — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 10:15:07 MDT

I wrote an article about finding one of these mushrooms in Atlanta GA a little under a year ago...

[www.gamevoxpop.com]

golddbz2000

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

nickaix — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 10:09:03 MDT

So, it sounds like the "healing" properties of the "Fly Amantia" mushroom in Oblivion only refer to it making you feel better... ;)

nickaix

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Geemer — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 09:19:55 MDT

This brings back memories. These shrooms were often referenced to in the fairy tales I heard/read as a child.
They're usually more flat, though...

Did you know that in ancient times, these were used as bug repellents?
People took the skin (the red 'n white part) of it and hung them from the ceiling.
Bugs would be attracted to them and then die shortly after eating from it. Don't be inspired by this, though. If you don't wash your hands thoroughly after touching the skin of this shroom and you eat some finger food, you could end up badly poisoning yourself.

Geemer

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Chilly Hollow — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 09:12:06 MDT

Bash is living up to his nickname today so I'll revise what I was going to say to just warn folks not to eat one of them there no matter what Mario told you in a dream. It impossible to gauge the dosage of the active ingredients of any one mushroom and you really don't want to kill yourself before all the new games come out this fall, right?

[peyote.com]

Chilly Hollow

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

thePheonix9 — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:44:31 MDT

News to me. :D

thePheonix9

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

CobAlGhul — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:33:11 MDT

I took an anthropolgy course that dealt almost entirely with this very mushroom and the whole time I kept wanting to allude to Super Mario, but was too afraid of fouling my professor's impression of me (not all academics think there's great merit in a pervasive video game generation). There's a lot of ancient culture derived from the practices surrounding this fungus and I can't help but think that Shigeru Miyamoto drew upon all of that when he created a techni-colored kingdom based on fly agaric. In fact, those versed in the esoterics of shamanism and hallucinogens would easily see the blatant drug references troughout SMB. Up until 2002, hallucinogenic mushrooms were legal and widely avalable throughout Japan... and that actually explains a lot.

CobAlGhul

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Pachinko — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:30:13 MDT

As others have pointed out, this isn't deadly, unless you eat a lot and then avoid medical care after the symptoms (mostly varied, though strong nausea/vomiting, hallucinations, stomach pain, etc) appear. I've had the displeasure of eating quite a lot of these myself, and I'm still alive. It's not something I'd recommend, though.

What's interesting with this family of mushrooms is the mild taste. Some non-poisonous amanitas are excellent in stews. At the same time, it makes the poisonous amanitas even more dangerous. The death cap (Amanita phalloides) and the destroying angel (Amanita virosa) are widely regarded as the world's most dangerous mushrooms.

According to a widely believed myth, the vikings ate fly amanitas before pillaging villages. The hallucinations inflicted rage, raised morale (signs from the Gods) and made the Vikings a lot more dangerous. Though hallucinogens such as fly amanitas were often used for such purposes in more primitive societies, there's little concrete evidence that the Vikings used them this way.

Pachinko

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

exedore — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:29:07 MDT

We have alot of these here in Norway along whit other trippy shrooms. A friend of mine once took some of the Amanita and he got very delusional. I remember him standing infront of his workbench taking a piss in one of his drawers. I asked im what the hell he was doing wich he replied whit an angry tone. "Cant you see i`m taking a fucking piss dammit!" Good times, good times :)

exedore

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Josh* — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:07:08 MDT

Seems like Ban Monday is off to a flying start.

HOW IS THIS NEWS??!

;(

Josh*

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:49:36 MDT

That's a pretty crazy looking mushroom. Looks delicious... (not really)

@DaiMacculate: I don't think it was meant to be banhammer bait specifically, but clearly a lot of people forgot that this is a gaming blog, not a page solely for news. It even says so up in the corner:

"Gossip, cheats and leaks for obsessive gamers. Don't get a life just yet."

I think this post might count as 'gossip'.

天

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

DaiMacculate — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:43:04 MDT

Heh, I'm starting to think this was just posted as Banhammer bait, judging by the previous comments. Regardless, as an amateur Mushroom hunter I will agree that most people should just never eat any mushroom they find out in the wild (esp. those darn Amanitas, all very pretty, most very deadly). That said, I've had a few tasty specimens of wild mushroom I found myself, my favorite being the Chicken Mushroom, so if its something you're interested in go for it, but be very, very cautious before you actually put something in your mouth, do your research.

DaiMacculate

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

doubtful — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:39:56 MDT

@cbisquit:

Haha, I was thinking the same thing. I was looking around for my alembic and mortal and pestle. Time to make some healing potions!

doubtful

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Latonone — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:31:24 MDT

oh, and DONT.

Latonone

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Latonone — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:24:41 MDT

It doesnt cause death and it does provide intense tripping action.

your stomach wont appreciate it though.

Latonone

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

pfive81 — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:19:59 MDT

@hueg_boss: That's because it's swiss.

pfive81

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:16:02 MDT

@Aglet:
Happy trails! :(

Brian Ashcraft

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

frostcircus — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:10:36 MDT

about a year ago, nearly every single house within 3-4 blocks of ours had several clusters of these mushrooms appear in random areas of their lawn.

i never did hear any explanation for that.

frostcircus

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

mcderek3000 — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:02:39 MDT

Good thing that we don't get many tourists or immigrants to Poland and that the ones we do get don't go mushroom picking.

I could just imagine the Japanese tourists - scary.

mcderek3000

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

mcderek3000 — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:00:39 MDT

I remember learning about them in primary school in Poland. These things are lethal. My mother once told a story of a family that went mushroom picking to make some soup and didn't know about the side effects - all of them were dead by the time the ambulance arrived. On a positive note, there was the story about the seven foot tall Goral (an unusual ethnic minority) that somehow survived eating them.

mcderek3000

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

hueg_boss — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:52:51 MDT

@pfive81:
Swiss Chard is partially red and it has no seeds!

hueg_boss

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

peteer02 — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:52:33 MDT

@Heliophage: Well, honestly, that's as close to in game effects of a super mushroom as you're going to get.

Jumping on turtles seems like a real possibility for someone who's eaten one of these...but what, exactly, is the real life equivalent of a goomba?

peteer02

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Aglet — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:49:36 MDT

How is this ever news? This mushroom is older than the U.S. of A. I seriously do not get it!

Aglet

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

dabu — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:49:02 MDT

Lol, this post is almost as good as the booth-babe-rape-gate post for bringing out punks. First off people, just because YOU know of the existence of this mushroom and have been scolded since birth not to eat it...doesn't meant OTHERS do. I've never seen it in my life and I think it's interesting. I swear, some of you are just like the asses on gizmodo that constantly complain about non-uber-tech posts. "How is this game/mac/pc/usb related." Quit whining like you somehow pay for this service.

dabu

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

pfive81 — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:41:32 MDT

Red + seeds = food

Red + no seeds = warning

Red + spitting fireballs = Induce vomiting immediately.

pfive81

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

ara — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:35:47 MDT

"I'm just surprised some moron hasn't gotten sick eating one of these and then blamed it on Nintendo!"

Might have something to do with the fact that those mushrooms are so common here that kids are told they are poisonous long before they play Mario. : P

ara

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

tralliboll — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:29:38 MDT

word of advice, if you would like to try "flugsvamp", you can only chew it and then spit it out, or else you can die...

tralliboll

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

cbisquit — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:24:05 MDT

Hey fly amanita is fairly common in oblivion... maybe they should have some kind of mario themed mini game in an expansion.

cbisquit

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:18:33 MDT

@Mentski:
Slow news what? Bye bye. :(

Brian Ashcraft

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Lajcik — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:16:35 MDT

And they aren't even 1-up mushrooms :/

Lajcik

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

SilverDogg — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:15:22 MDT

the reason to why european kids doesnt eat this and then blame it on nintendo is because they are intelligent enough not to do that. unlike some others...

SilverDogg

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Mentski — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:06:13 MDT

Slow news day, is it, then?

The Smurfs were using these well before Mario and co reared their fat moustachioed heads.

Mentski

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

little_dragon — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:04:50 MDT

I know a few people who tried taking fly mushroom. Thing is, it's really hard to get the right dose. Take too much and you'll end up in hospital or even dead. Even if you manage to get the dose right, the resulting trip can be bad, very very bad - think about the worst LSD horror you've ever had and you're not nearly close. And you'll still suffer from some serious poisoning.

To make this short: Don't do it. Leave it for the hardcore psychedelic crowd, who think that mescaline just doesn't cut it for them anymore...

little_dragon

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

cyhborg — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:59:48 MDT

@ashcraft:

y'know, as in fussing over small details?

cyhborg

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Firvulag — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:59:02 MDT

and also i'm thinking: what if a mushroom man ate one of these mushrooms?
or just licked it?

oh and when mario does a "LICK GET!" he must have a silly licking animation.

Firvulag

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:54:33 MDT

@4thVariety:
No one said it was news, kiddo. Bye bye! :(

Brian Ashcraft

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:54:06 MDT

@cyhborg:
Nitpick?

Brian Ashcraft

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

4thVariety — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:53:53 MDT

How that is exactly news is beyond me. There is hardly any European not knowing this mushroom, since most get drilled at school never to eat that one. Wake me up when you see some real life MGS4 Babe-Monsters ravaging the EU landscape

4thVariety

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

cyhborg — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:47:19 MDT

Nitpick: the binomial name has to be italicized

cyhborg

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Himiko — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:46:31 MDT

I think kids in Europe are told many times not to eat that kind of mushroom. At least I was told many times.

Himiko

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Lyrai — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:43:05 MDT

Mama mia, that'sa not what the shrooms are supposed to do at all!

Lyrai

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Firvulag — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:41:09 MDT

also what would happen if you merely licked it?

i wonder if the mario games would be better if he only licked the mushrooms...it could say "LICK GET!"

food for thought...

Firvulag

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:34:02 MDT

@Amazingu:
GREAT COMMENT DUDE. Thanks for playing!

Brian Ashcraft

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

KEELr — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:32:43 MDT

Im pretty sure I was thought in pre-school that you shouldnt eat shrooms...

KEELr

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

TaMs — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:30:29 MDT

There's many of those in the Finland too. Nothing special :(

TaMs

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

CyberSkull — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:28:23 MDT

Generally, you shouldn't ingest any brightly colored plant anyways. Or any ol' fungus unless you qualify for a degree in that area.

CyberSkull

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Heliophage — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:25:33 MDT

Hallucinations, eh? So, is it possible that after ingesting one of these that the entire world around you would appear smaller? I'd say it's doing its job right there.

Heliophage

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

CrimsonAngel — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:24:51 MDT

Taste funny to.

CrimsonAngel

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Amazingu — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:24:49 MDT

Man, there sure is a drought for news now that Halo 3 has been released hunh?

Amazingu

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

Firvulag — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:19:52 MDT

i see these many times in Norway..sure dont look super at ALL!

Firvulag

The Totally Real Mario Super Mushroom

MasterOfPastures — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:16:39 MDT

Wow... now where do goombas live?

MasterOfPastures