Real-life Mario Kart with REAL WORKING ITEMS OH SNAP

Thanks, science!

Yeah, we’ve all seen so-called “real-life Mario Kart” before, but always as a parody rather than a legitimate adaptation of the game mechanics in a physical setting. But wait around long enough and the magic of SCIENCE will make all your wildest fantasies come true!

Waterloo Labs in Austin, Texas, is a gang of National Instruments engineers that uses their combined intelligence on cool — and ultimately frivolous — endeavors. They wanted an authentic Mario Kart experience, which means bananas that make you slip, shells that make you spin out, lightning bolts that slow down all other vehicles, and so on.

They succeeded.

Real Life Mario Kart – Waterloo Labs – Episode 07 [YouTube via ScrewAttack]