Did you every wonder why Mario is named, well, Mario? Or why Donkey Kong is named Donkey Kong, not Monkey Kong? These answers are now coming to the Mushroom Kingdom by popular demand.

Mario - Why Mario? Actually he was named after the landlord of Nintendo's office building in New York! His name was Mario Segali and guess what? He was Italian.

Donkey Kong - On the Internet there was a rumor that DK's name was supposed to be Monkey Kong due to some bad phone connection and someone heard wrong and the rest is history! A more believable theory is that Shigeru Miyamoto looked in dictionaries for dumb because he wanted DK to be stubborn. He succeeded!

Toad - His name is short for 'Toadstool'.

Wario - His name is from a Japanese word 'warui' which means 'bad'.

Tanooki Suit - A Japanese myth, the Tanooki is a raccoon-like creature that can turn itself into stone.

Mallow - An abbreviation for marshmallow!

Kreptor the Condor - He is the bird from Shifting Sand Lands from Super Mario 64. Kreptor is just a stupid prefix of 'kleptomania'. That means 'an impulse for someone to steal'.

Kamek - In japanese, 'kame' means turtle. Connect the dots.

Shy Guy - He wears a mask over his head. Shy Guys are the little red guys from Super Mario Bros. 2.

Dorrie the Sea Dragon - It is the dragon from Hazy Mazy Cave. 'Dory' is a sea species that eats other small fish.

Boo Diddley - The little ghosts from Super Mario Bros. 3. Named after the 50's rock and roll singer Bo Diddley.

Mack the Knife - The big knife from Super Mario RPG is named after the 70's song, 'Mack the Knife'.

Stay tuned for part II coming in a couple of days. Until then, this is Kirby of Popstar singing off.