User:SkippyTheAnimal/sandbox

Longboard (Skateboard)

History

The first longboards were made by Hawaiian surfers in the 1940's and 50's as an alternative when the waves were too dull. Early skaters built dangerous, improvised boards out of planks of wood and roller skates in a practice known as Sidewalk Surfing. Manufactured Lonboards first became commercially available in 1959 when Makaha, Jack's, and Hobie became the first professional longboard distributors. These early longboards were still relatively crude, as they still featured metal wheels, but later had clay wheels due to improved safety factors. Longboarding became a popular activity in the late 1950's early 1960's, but its popularity had largely died by 1965. Longboarding made a comeback in 1972 when Frank Nasworthy and the Cadillac Wheel Company introduced the urethane longboard wheel. Urethane wheels allowed skaters to reach very high downhill speeds which were not possible before. Standard vertical kingpin skate truck's at the time could not maintain stability at these speeds. In the 1990's, Sector 9 developed the reverse kingpin skate truck. The reverse kingpin truck's stability and maneuverability helped downhill longboarding grow into a legitimate sport, with the International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA) as its governing body. The 90's also saw the introduction of the cutout deck, which has sections cut out around the wheels to prevent the wheels from touching the board during hard turns. Longboard technology has evolved rapidly to accommodate unique modern skating disciplines including downhill, slalom, freeriding, dancing, and freestyle. Modern longboard decks can be made from a variety of materials including fiberglass composites, aluminum, and carbon fiber. Precision trucks, which are machined with cutting edge CNC technology instead of die casting with molds, offer more strength and maneuverability than cast trucks and have achieved popularity among professional skaters.

Automatic Mario

Automatic Mario is a musical sub-genre and internet meme which uses extremely complex, hacked Super Mario World(1990) levels to make music. Levels are built so that no effort is needed from the player in order to be completed and sound blocks are placed along the way. When the level is started, the sound blocks are hit in sequence, creating their own rhythm and melody. One particularly elaborate Automatic Mario was set to Queen's Don't Stop Me now. It features four separate levels being ran on four separate screens, each playing the part of a specific band member.