The character Mario was created by Shigeru Miyamoto, a Japanese game designer in 1981 for the game Donkey Kong.  After this game, in 1983, the game Mario Bros was released.  This game was the first game where the actual name of our hero, Mario, was used.  Moreover, a new character Luigi who was the brother of Mario was added to the game.  Mario Brothers did not became popular until 1985 when Nintendo released the game for its well known video console.

Super Mario Bros and Nintendo were a huge success.  Mario was an Italian plummer in the game and a resident of the Mushroom Kingdom.  Just like many computer games of that period, a princess was kidnapped by a bad guy and Mario was trying to save her to have a romantic relation with the princess:)

Super Mario Bros sold about 40 million copies.  Many copycats of the game was created.  Super Mario Bros still holds the Guinness World Record for the best selling video game of all times.

After this success,  followers of Super Maro Bros were released; Super Mario Bros 2 in 1988 and Super Mario Bros 3 in 1990.

After many versions of Marios releases, in 1996, Nintendo released the Super Mario 3-D on its Nintendo 64 video game console.  The game was the first platform game that supported 3-D and allowed for free roaming in large open environments.  The theme, however, was quite romantic and heroic aiming to save the captured princess.

Super Mario Bros was released for GameCube (Super Mario SunShine) and Wii (Super Mario Galaxy) , successful game consoles of Nintendo with greater details and technology.

This was a very short summary of the knol written by Kevin Spaulding.  Full knol can be read here.

Although not yet popular, green web hosting providers are gaining in popularity, and highly sought after by environmentally conscious website owners and webmasters.

Several established web hosting companies are also switching to green energy, e.g. HostGator.

If you are interested to learn more about eco-friendly web hosting, I recommend you to visit this knol about green web hosting.

The knol is basically talking about the basics of eco web hosting – What is green web hosting, how web hosting providers are becoming green, and how a website owner or webmaster can becoming “green,” as well as some examples of web hosting companies that are going green.

Please visit the knol to learn more about green web hosting.

A knol written by Bobbie7 lists the best articles about dogs on Google Knol.

The knol list articles in categories, helping readers to browse for articles painlessly. Some of the categories are: Adoption, allergies, behavior, breeds and breeding, caring for your dog, diseases and conditions, health, history, hunting dogs, how-to, and many more.

The knol is updated regularly and I think the author of this knol deserves a credit for putting up such a great resource. Please visit the knol for vast information on dogs, courtesy of Google Knol.

Image by wsilver.

Unlike other recipe articles that come with the ingredients list and step-by-step how-to-cook, this knol explains the reason why should we make the pancakes from scratch, instead of buying them off-the-store-shelf. The main motivation Scott Jenson wrote this knol is to encourage people who can’t cook to try making pancakes.

Why? Because it’s easy to make the ultimate pancake.

The knol will help you from the preparation of equipments and ingredients to enjoying and being fun with the pancakes – Reading Scott’s knol is like reading a how-to-cook as an art!

The basic recipe

You need 2 bowls:

The wets

1.5 cups (350ml) buttermilk
1 egg
3 Tablespoons (50g) melted butter – use microwave
2 Teaspoons (10ml) Vanilla (add 1 more for kids!)

The drys

1 cup (125g) white flour
3 Tbsp (40g) sugar
1/2 tsp (3g) baking soda (make sure it’s not 3 years old…
1/2 tsp (2g) baking powder
1/2 tsp (4g) salt

Whisk each one lightly. Add roughly half of the dry mix into the wet and whisk smooth, not too long. Add the remainder of the dry mix and barely whisk together. Make sure all of the flour is mixed in.

If possible, let the batter rest for a few minutes to allow the baking soda and baking powder ‘work’ – this will make for airier pancakes.

Cooking the pancakes

Use non-stick pan (important.) Heavier is better as it spreads the heat, prevents burning, and browns the pancakes nicely. Heat the pan on the lowest setting on your stove top to avoid burning the pancakes. For an electric skillet, set it to 325°F.

Drop a 1/4 cup scoop of batter onto the pan. You might need to spread it around just a bit if the batter is extra thick.

The most important point is to cook the pancakes slowly. A good rule of thumb is 90-120 seconds per side. When you flip, you’ve got to do it quickly so it doesn’t splash across the pan.

I suggest you to visit Scott’s knol for a more detailed how-to-cook, including some tips and tricks.

Here’s why you should keep your eyes on swine flu:

This multi-authored knol is very comprehensive in covering the news and updates on swine flu – Articles, breaking news, video news, feeds and links from all over the Web to help you keep track on what’s happening to the pandemic flu.

The knol writers use the embedded Google Docs to share information, making it effective to less-clutter their knol page.

Make sure you visit this very useful knol to keep you well-informed about the development of swine flu outbreak.

This knol about franchising your business mainly explains to you the 9 issues you should take care in order to franchise your business. Here is the recap of the 9 issues:

1. Franchise Operations Manual – This is the blueprint for a franchisee to run their business. The more detailed, the better, no matter how simple things are.
2. Pilot Operation – Although you are already running a business, you need to make sure it will still operate at arm’s length. Before offering your franchised business to public, you should test the system within your own business or store, at least one.
3. Franchise agreement – The Franchise Agreement governs the relationship between you and your franchisees and is an important source of protection for your business.
4. Franchise Sales Document – You need to think about the type of franchisee (persons) you want attract to your franchise business – The right message in your sales document will help you achieve it.
5. Franchisee Training – You need to decide what training your franchisees will need, how to train them and who will actually carry out the training.
6. Franchise Investment Costs – The amount of initial fee payable by the franchisee needs to be clear, and also the level of ongoing payments from the franchisee to you.
7. Recruiting Franchisees – You will need to produce a franchise sales document outlining your system and what is expected from your franchisees, and also establish a recruitment process.
8. Franchise Management and Support Staff – They will usually be responsible for selecting franchisees, and providing the ongoing support and guidance that is essential for the franchisees to build their business.
9. Professional Advice – Always ask for help, from both online and offline professional advice and franchise information offered by a franchise consultant, accountant and solicitor.

For more detailed explanations on how to franchise a business, please visit the knol.

Andros writes a very interesting knol (it’s still in under construction) that showcases the important ships in Star Trek, including some background stories to accompany them.

Here’s one example:

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D is one of the Galaxy Class – the largest and most complex Starfleet starship built to date as the result of an ambitious development program at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D is probably the most notable Galaxy class starship under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Very interesting, indeed. For more ships and the story behind them, I suggest you to visit the knol.

Images by Andros.

The knol ellaborates 5 of the most important aspects of Japanese culture, customs and etiquette that you should be aware of:

1. Meeting and greeting
   Bowing is one of the most simple yet important forms of etiquette, representing many purposes: A form of greeting, a sign of respect, to accompany an apology, and various other situations.
2. Visiting a Japanese house
   First and foremost, remember to take off your shoes, whether you are visiting a home, business, hotels and many other establishments. If you are visiting a home, also try to bring a simple gift for the hostess.
3. Eating and drinking
   At a restaurant, you will be presented with moist rolled towel before you started to eat – Use it to clean your hands, not your face. Before you start eating, try to use the phrase “itadakimasu”, an expression of gratitude.
4. Bathing
   You will typically be given an honour to bathe first, usually before dinner time. Before you start to bathe, wash yourself in a shower first.
5. Other things you should know
   If you are “out of the ordinary” – e.g. very tall, be ready to be stared at. Also, avoid kissing in public.

For more detailed explanation on each of the 5 customs, please visit the knol.

Image by jimg944.

Cartoons are supposedly funny – They can tell you what you couldn’t do in “normal” way – I.e. You can’t say that someone is fat (well, you can, but it would offend that person or anybody overheard you.) In cartoon, you can depict someone fat as, well, fat (or very fat); you can also depict someone with crooked nose as a character who has a very large and crooked nose.

A knol by Professor Claes Johnson contains a great collection of cartoons that tell the truth about scientists and science.

Here’s one example taken from the knol:

The above is the cartoon by Gary Larson (”The Far Side”) – It’s hilarious is a smart way because it tells truths about science, which scientists are not allowed to express themselves (but they can in the form of cartoon.)

For more smart cartoons about science and scientists, please visit the knol.

Here comes the Google Caffeine. Will it favour Google Knol?

Google has requested some help a few weeks ago to test the new search engine infrastructure under the name of Caffeine. So far, the test has resulted in some promising facts: Better improvement in search speed, index size and accuracy.

A knol written by Andreas Kemper explores the possibilities of knols to rank better in Google Caffeine.

So far, Andreas has observed that his knols are going up in Google Caffeine result pages. Even better, his bad-ranked knol with useful content is ranked considerably better in the new search engine infrastructure.

All of the observations are focusing on one issue important for all knol writers: Will bad-ranked knols rank better in Google Caffeine?

Please share your very own experience, either in this article on Andreas’ knol – Are your knols rank better in Google Caffeine?