There are world records, and then there are world records.

And then there's Super Mario Bros.

Yes, people are still playing the game that arguably launched the Nintendo Entertainment System way back in 1985 (in the United States, at least). And, yes, it's apparently possible to beat the game in less time than it takes to go to the store  perhaps even less time than it takes to go to the bathroom, buy a ticket from Ticketmaster, or heat up a bowl of soup, depending on your particular scenario.

A brand-new world record has been set for Super Mario Bros., and the speedrun managed to shave a whopping four-tenths of a second or so off the previous record of 4:58:09. That's right. Speedrunner "Blubber" cruised through Super Mario Bros. at a mere 4:53:69, earning him (or her) top honors for the game. At least, that's according to stats posted to the SMB Leaderboards Wiki  if you happen to have proof of a faster clearance time sitting around, I'm sure they'd love to see it.

The best part, though, is that the speedrun itself is entirely natural. It's not a "tool-assisted" speedrun, which is to say, it doesn't use slow-motion, replays, rerecording, and other bits of trickery to create game runs that would be otherwise extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, for real people to accomplish on their own. Blubber played Super Mario Bros. using his or her own real hands to do it, and the recorded time is a legitimate recording of a person sitting in front of a console and playing the game like one normally would.

Well, sort of. Blubber's accomplishment does allow him or her to make use of any in-game glitches that exist in an effort to shave off as much time as possible. And the speedrun in question does just that: A glitch with a bullet bill in world 8-2 allowed him to cut a bit of time off his run and put the world record within reach (you can see that part around 3:20 or so in the accompanying video).

As for all the other tricks one can use to achieve a crazy-low Super Mario Bros. time, the more complicated ones are listed on the official Super Mario Bros. Speed Demos Archive knowledge base page. We warn you in advance: They're not for newbies.

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