Fake Item Box

The Fake Item Box is an item found in the Mario Kart series. They resemble regular Item Boxes, but they do not bestow items to karts that pass through them; instead, the kart will crash. Fake Item Boxes are generally obtained by racers near the front of the race, being used as traps similarly to Bananas; however, after Mario Kart 64, Fake Item Boxes cannot block incoming shells. The Fake Item Box hasn't apeared in Mario Kart 7 or 8; it appears in every game from Mario Kart 64 to Mario Kart Wii.

Mario Kart 64
The Fake Item Box first appears in Mario Kart 64. They appear identical to regular Item Boxes with a key difference: the question mark inside is upside-down (a ¿ instead of a ?). Karts that collide with one are blasted into the air. Like Bananas, they can be used to block incoming shells, though unlike Bananas, they cannot be tossed forward.

If placed midair, the Fake Item Box will float; this is the only game where it acts like this.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Fake Item Boxes are absent in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, but they return in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Here, not only do they have a ¿ symbol, but are also red, but they can hide the color at a distance - only when approaching they turn red. They can be destroyed by Star and Heart.

Mario Kart DS
The Fake Item Box next appears in Mario Kart DS. They have a new set of differences from a real Item Box: they lack a "?" entirely, they do not spin around, and they show up as red on the bottom screen's map. Their overall behavior is much the same as the previous game, though they do not bounce when thrown. Additionally, they get knocked away if a racer collides with them instead of exploding as all other iterations do.

Missions 4-6 and 7-8 involve collecting a number of Item Boxes while avoiding Fake Item Boxes.

Mario Kart Wii
The Fake Item Box most recently appears in Mario Kart Wii. Here, they return to their Mario Kart: Double Dash!! look, with a style change to match the new style of the real ones, as well as being larger than in the previous games. While they still have a ¿ sign inside, like in Double Dash!!, they can hide their red color at a distance - only on approaching do they turn red. Fake Item Boxes become blue instead if they belong to the blue team in team play. Much like in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Fake Item Boxes can be destroyed only by colliding into them.