Plumbers have been at the center of jokes about cracks and crap for years. It’s what they do and who they are, after all. A plumber’s main source of income comes from unclogging toilets and fumbling around with pipes that outsource nasty waste. Where do these pipes exist? In hard-to-reach places like under sinks, in between walls, and wedged between dirty bathroom stalls.
The job description is far from glamorous and you can’t judge the plumber for airing his crack when he’s doing the dirty work you’d never do. Despite all of their negative press and unglorified moments, plumbers can have their moments of fame, just like you. In fact, plumbers have been the subject of attention and fame in media and on the Hollywood screen for years. Let’s put a pipe in that.
Super Mario Brothers
The most iconic plumbers of all time have to be The Mario Brothers. Super Mario Bros. is the biggest game of all time. The game recently had it’s 30 year anniversary. It was developed by Shigeru Miyamoto when Nintendo desperately needed a game to give the company the exposure it needed.
It was originally called Donkey Kong, and Mario was originally named “Jumpman.” When Nintendo was contemplating the American release of the game, they needed a better name. They were interrupted by their landlord Mario Segale, and in that moment, Mario the character was created. Did you know that Mario was originally a carpenter? Apparently, being a plumber ensures much more success.
The first Super Mario Bros. game sold 42.24 million copies. That’s a lot of exposure in the name of plumbing. Today, Mario has been in over 200 video games and the Super Mario Bros. series sits in the Guinness book of world records as the most successful game franchise ever.
The Silver Screen
Moving to the silver screen, plumbers have had no absence here. The most famous plumbers and plumbing related scenes that reached the silver screen go on to include The Three Stooges in their film “A Plumbing We Will Go.” Curly was the most memorable, but all three made lovely plumbers.
Another famous plumber was Bob Hoskins in “Super Mario Brothers.” Remember Buster Keaton in, “The Passionate Plumber?” How about Victor Moore in “The Seven Year Itch?” If none of those do it for you, maybe you’ll remember Popeye when he was a plumber in “Plumbers Pipe Dream.”
The point is, plumbers are funny, plumbers are famous, and they have offered entertainment and bathroom help to the world for years. Did you know that Ozzy Osborne and Michael Caine were plumbers before they made it big?
Maybe if you join the business, you’ll find your 15 minutes of fame, too. Or maybe you’ll just find a lot of crap. Either way, plumbing is a whole lot more than it’s “cracked” up to be.
