Blue Shell

Blue shell

The blue shell, officially referred to by Nintendo as the Spiny Shell, is a power-up item in the Mario Kart video game series. Originating in Mario Kart 64 (1996) and featured in every main entry of the series since then, the blue shell, when used, aims directly at the racer in first place, stopping them on impact. The blue shell acts as a "catch-up" mechanic, with racers ranked towards the bottom having a better chance of it spawning when driving into item boxes, giving them a better chance at diminishing the lead of the racer in top position. In addition to the Mario Kart series, the blue shell appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series from 2001's Melee onwards, and in Mario Hoops 3-on-3. A character based on the item appears in the 2023 film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, voiced by Scott Menville.

Blue

Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RGB (additive) colour model, as well as in the RYB colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term blue generally describes colours perceived by humans observing light with a dominant wavelength between approximately 450 and 495 nanometres. The clear daytime sky and the deep sea appear blue because of an optical effect known as Rayleigh scattering. An optical effect called the Tyndall effect explains blue eyes. Distant objects appear more blue because of another optical effect called aerial perspective.

blue

Adjective

1. Of a blue hue.
2. Depressed, melancholic, sad.

Noun

1. The colour of the clear sky or the deep sea; the colour midway between green and violet in the visible spectrum and one of the primary additive colours.
2. Anything coloured blue, especially to distinguish it from similar objects differing only in colour.

shell

Noun

1. A hard external covering of an animal.

Verb

1. To remove the outer covering or shell of something.
2. To bombard, to fire projectiles at, especially with artillery.