List of curiosities

Little known facts

• The number of possible board states in Tetris is 2²⁰⁰ = 1606938044258990275541962092341162602522202993782792835301376 ≈ 1.6 x 10⁶⁰ (not counting variants in minoes).
• The number of stable ("with non-filled line") board states is 1022¹⁹ x 1023 = 1546830240339583941968754047234064022827366713230467631939584 ≈ 1.54 x 10⁶⁰ (not counting variants in minoes).
• Nowadays Tetris logo was drawn by Roger Dean
• The theme has lyrics: Korobeiniki.
  • This is actually copyrighted by TTC.

Also, according to RealTechnews:

• The game inspired a terrible single in 1992 by Dr Spin, featuring samples of music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Tetris and the law

• In September 2002, Chopdat, Faiz, 23, of Blackburn, was sentenced to 4 months in prison after refusing to turn off his mobile 3 times on a flight from Egypt to Manchester. The crew asked him three times to switch off the phone, which was interfering with the plane’s communications system, but each time Chopdat turned it on again. He was playing Tetris and got arrested, because playing Tetris is prohibited by law in airplanes (if you play Tetris, the FBI confiscates your phone and you are sentenced to 11.5 years in prison: 10 for possessing an unlawful item, and 1.5 for circumventing airport security (which has banned everything from metal in general to fidget spinners)).
  • There are many other laws against Tetris. See 13b, 18b, and 21b to learn more. So this is just one way to go to prison for playing Tetris.
  • Anyone who has gone to prison for playing Tetris gets Template:Arrested on his page.

Other facts

• The world’s smallest game of Tetris took place under an electron microscope using 42 glass ‘microspheres’ at the Department of Physics of Complex Systems in Amsterdam (video here)
• Yuri Yevushenko, director of the Russian Academy in the 1980s, claims Tetris is so successful because "unlike American games it is not about murder, shooting or chasing; it is about building and order."
  • However, a video has suggested that it may be about poop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Ywxox2kvM
• In a recent US study at the Harvard Medical School’s department of psychiatry, 27 Tetris players spent seven hours a day, for three days, playing the game. Many had ‘Tetris dreams’.

Tetris apparel

• "Put pieces Together to Make a Peace" (Threadless ; out of stock)
• "Tetris the Soviet Challenge" (comboutique)
• "Tetris addict" on T-shirts, messenger bags... (comboutique)

Art and Culture

• Tetris falling on an alley (photography)
• Human Tetris
• Tiny tiny tiny Tetris GIF
• Tetris Crate
• Tetris vandalism
• Virtual Valentine's Day card
• Sugar stop-motion Tetris
• Various Tetris commercials
• Tetris Tableware
• Lady Sovereign "Love me or Hate me (explicit version)" clip (Tetris at the beginning and the end)
• Another stop-motion video (tetris at 02:34)
• German Honda Commercial
• The Perry Bible Fellowship Tetris Strip
• Tetris DS Japanese 24h marathon
• Tetris in Real Life (art photography)

People

Utada Hikaru, japanese pop idol

• can play a vs match while laughing
• hit 99999999 on Tetris DS
• participated in a Tetris DS event organized by Nintendo
• (is cute when she plays)

Alexey Pajitnov, the man behind Tetris

• won a GDC game design challenge
• (has an admirable russian accent)