No I have an original NES with a CRT. It's possible to do high scores on the emulator, but there are certain limitations around input lag and screen refresh rate that make it a lot harder.
Yeah, everyone says level 19 is really hard on an emulator. I can't judge how much harder because I've only played on emulator and 19 is tough in any case :)
I wish there was an odometer for electronic devices.
edit: Yes, I guess that would just be a counter. But it'd be fun to see how many miles a relic like this actually has.
There sort of is - the clock battery in the NES cartridge. They tend to run down slightly slower without usage. Rough estimates suggest 50 years if untouched, but I've seen a handful of well-loved cartridges expire since '95.