Probably not provably. During DOTA_Teabag’s Super Mario 64 run in Tick Tock Clock, Mario unexpectedly moved upward. Analysis found that changing one bit in a value interpreted as Mario’s vertical position could reproduce the movement. A cosmic-ray-induced bit flip is a plausible explanation for that change, but no one measured radiation or otherwise proved that a cosmic ray caused it.
The bizarre Tick Tock Clock upwarp
The incident, reported on February 17, 2021, involved the runner known as DOTA_Teabag playing Super Mario 64. In Tick Tock Clock, Mario suddenly appeared to move or warp upward to a higher part of the stage during otherwise ordinary gameplay. The movement did not correspond to a known, repeatable controller technique. The original report is available at Hackaday.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Super Mario 64 Game for N64 (Renewed) | $60.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Super Mario 64 DS - Nintendo DS (Renewed) | $46.71 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64) (Complete - Very Good) | $68.41 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Super Mario 64 (Renewed) | $82.83 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Super Mario 64 DS (Renewed) | $42.92 | Buy on Amazon |
The video establishes that an unusual movement appeared in the run. It does not, by itself, identify what happened inside the Nintendo 64.
The one-bit explanation
What a bit flip means
A bit is a binary value, either 0 or 1. A bit flip is an unintended change from one state to the other. Depending on the bit’s location and the data it belongs to, the result can be harmless, crash software, or radically change a number.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →#1 Best Overall
Game state is stored as numbers in memory, including Mario’s position. Changing a high-order bit in a position value can produce a large change in the number that the game engine uses, even though only one binary digit changed.
The reported hexadecimal values
Testing attributed to Mario 64 analyst pannenkoek12 identified a value interpreted as Mario’s height or vertical position. The reported 32-bit hexadecimal values were:
Rank #2
| State | Value |
|---|---|
| Before | C5837800 |
| After | C4837800 |
These values differ by one bit. The proposal is not that the entire memory word was randomly replaced; it is that one binary position changed, producing a different interpreted height. Forcing that alteration in an emulator appeared to reproduce the upward movement described in the report.
What the emulator test proves—and what it does not
- Observed event: footage shows an unexpected upward movement during the run.
- Proposed state change: analysis identifies a one-bit difference in a height-related value.
- Reproduction: manually changing that value in an emulator produces behavior consistent with the footage.
- Physical cause: the test does not show how the original console’s value changed.
This is the central distinction. The emulator result shows that the proposed memory alteration is sufficient to explain the movement. It does not prove that the original Nintendo 64 experienced that exact alteration, or that a cosmic ray caused it. Emulator behavior is also not automatically identical to every detail of original hardware.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Why cosmic rays entered the discussion
High-energy cosmic particles and the secondary particles they create can sometimes cause single-event upsets in electronic systems by disturbing stored charge or logic. In principle, such an event could change a bit without a button press or intentional software write.
The idea fit this incident because the movement appeared to require a narrow, one-bit change, happened unexpectedly, and was not reliably summoned through normal inputs. A rare external event would also explain why the behavior appeared once rather than becoming a practiced trick. Those facts make a cosmic-ray-induced upset physically plausible; they do not establish that radiation struck this console at that moment.
Rank #4
Why the cause was never proven
No radiation detector recorded a particle, no physical trace of the console’s state was preserved, and the original memory contents cannot be reconstructed with forensic certainty. A successful emulator reproduction demonstrates one viable route to the observed behavior, not the only route.
Other possibilities remain conceptually open:
| Possible explanation | What it could explain | What remains unknown |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmic-ray-induced bit flip | A one-off, localized memory change | Whether radiation actually caused it |
| Undiscovered software or collision interaction | An unexpected movement from a rare animation, geometry, timing, or input combination | Why the behavior was not quickly reproduced |
| Electrical or hardware fault | Transient corruption from signal, power, cartridge contacts, or aging components | Why the apparent change looked so precisely localized |
| Deliberate manipulation | A controlled one-bit alteration | There is no evidence in the cited report establishing this, so it should not be treated as an accusation |
A bit flip also need not come from cosmic radiation: electrical noise and semiconductor faults can produce similar errors. “Cosmic ray” is therefore shorthand for one plausible radiation-related mechanism, not a forensic finding.
Best Value
- This renewed game will not come with the original case or manual; cartridge only. It has been cleaned, tested, and is in nice condition.
Did it actually save time?
Mario reaching a higher area looked advantageous, but the available report does not establish a precise time save through a complete frame-by-frame comparison with the intended route. “Assists” can describe the appearance of the movement rather than a verified record improvement. One comment cited on the report even questioned whether that occurrence saved time.
That distinction matters in speedrunning. A visual shortcut is not automatically a measured advantage, and an accidental event cannot be incorporated into a route unless runners can reproduce and control it.
Was this a usable speedrunning technique?
No. A practical technique is repeatable or meaningfully controllable, executable through known inputs or hardware actions, and testable by other runners. A random memory upset satisfies none of those requirements. Even if the cosmic-ray explanation were correct, it would describe an accidental hardware anomaly rather than a movement players could practice.
The accurate verdict
The Tick Tock Clock upwarp is a recorded event. A one-bit change in a height-related value appears capable of reproducing it, and a cosmic-ray-induced single-event upset is a reasonable hypothesis for how such a change might occur. But the evidence does not prove that a cosmic ray flipped the bit, prove a particular time gain, or establish a new Super Mario 64 speedrunning technique.
For the original incident and its linked technical material, see the February 17, 2021 Hackaday report. A community replication-bounty discussion referenced there is available at https://youtu.be/aNzTUdOHm9A; it should be read as community investigation, not independent proof of the physical cause.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
