'Ancient Egyptian Plumber'

Mario-inspired t-shirt designs pop up with such regularity these days that most folks probably stopped caring about them long ago.

It's hard not to care about a well-produced Mario-inspired t-shirt design, though, and in my humble opinion the one below (and here) fits rather snugly within that category.

The quality of this particular design, titled "Ancient Egyptian Plumber," isn't all that surprising once you realize it was produced by the Los Angeles-based artist who answers to both "herky" and "Lucky1988."

Another reason to like herky's/Lucky1988's creation: The tongue-in-cheek article that promotes it over at shirt.woot.com.

CAIRO, Egypt – An illustrated tapestry recently unearthed here seems to suggest that plumbing, long believed to be a primarily Roman invention, may in fact have originated in ancient Egypt.  

Depicting a leaping figure wearing boots, a cap, and a form of ancient Egyptian overalls, the illustration indicates that Egypt can claim credit for the now-iconic plumber archetype.  

“It’s remarkable how contemporary the plumber figure looks,” says Prof. Martin Etcharles of the University of Shigeru. “It looks like something that could have been drawn in the early 1980s in Japan.”

The tapestry is believed to date from the reign of Pharaoh Bowserkhamun III, during the so-called Mushroom Dynasty. Etcharles says that the whole field of plumbing archaeology has been electrified by the discovery.  

“Of course, there’s always the possibility we’re getting too fixated on this plumber character,” he says. “But we wouldn’t be the first to do that.”

Cream-colored tees featuring this "Ancient Egyptian Plumber" can be picked up here for $15, while "natural" totes can be bought here for $12. Both are only available until Saturday, May 26, so get your butt over to shirt.woot.com pronto if you want one.

See also: More of Lucky1988's designs