The Mario Theme Song Played on 4 Calculators Is a Dose of Good Internet

While scrolling through the feeds Sunday, I came across a charming video that I had to click on. The one-minute clip is of what appears to be a man playing the Super Mario Bros. theme song using four calculators. Of course, this type of stunt is common on YouTube, but for some reason, I was convinced I had come across something special.

For one, the YouTuber behind the clip doesn’t seem particularly interested in fame. Their channel isn’t their name or a branded pseudonym. It’s a phrase: “It’s a small world.” The image they chose is a white background with the same mantra written on it in plain handwriting. Despite having over 45,000 subscribers, It’s a small world doesn’t seem very interested in self-promotion, evidenced by the fact that their about page is blank.

The whole channel is incredibly refreshing given YouTube’s clickbait-filled landscape. This person is simply here to make some tunes with unconventional instruments, without any of the frills. They haven’t even been doing this very long: The channel is only a couple of months old.

Aside from the Mario video, which I think can be safely called It’s a small world’s magnum opus, there is “Despacito,” the hit song by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee, as well as the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song, both played on two calculators.

The Mario video is the only one in which It’s a small world is able to master four calculators—an impressive feat.

I tried to figure out who is the genius behind It’s a small world without much luck. There’s no contact information on their YouTube channel, and I received no response on Twitter.

Searching around led me to another surprise, though: The mastermind behind the YouTube channel is also great at Twitter. Instead of polluting the world with more opinions, It’s a small world prefers to simply tweet delightful little emojis most of the time:

Watching it’s a small world’s videos provided a tiny, necessary reminder that not all of the internet is bad. Some people just want to make unique music and put it online for the rest of us to enjoy.

Please don’t just repost It’s a small world’s videos as some have, but if you would like to get into their line of work, they recently posted a helpful calculator music tutorial.