Is no one going to notice my cool shirt??

He’s back at it again, answering questions no one had, but now we’re all curious about.

Seeing JJ nonchalantly throw his perfect 5 pointed star on the floor to proudly present his disfigured paper waste made my day. Had to replay 5 times.

I would love to see you do a break down on how the different symbols on slot machines came to be. I've always been curious about the odd mix of fruits, 7's, horseshoes, etc.

In Hungary the green trabant (which is an old east german car) is considered as a symbol of luck. I think it’s because in the old socialist times, in order to get a car you needed to sign up for a list and wait (sometimes years) for a car. So you were not in a position to choose a color, most of these cars were blue or grey. A green trabant was considered really rare, so if you saw one it was a sign of luck. 😃 Some people even had a green trabant keychain.

I've heard that the Irish luck thing was originally just sarcastic, based on the fact that Ireland historically had horrible luck

I’d never heard blue moon referring to the second full moon of the year. I grew up understanding that a blue moon refers to when you have two full moons in the same month. That’s what made it rare and therefore lucky.

I live in the state of Arkansas, and here at least, blacksmiths, ranchers, and others will nail horse shoes to their door posts. During some period of time (when it rains, if I remember correctly?) They will point the open ends up, supposedly collecting luck like in a bucket. When the rain stops, or whenever they feel like they need the extra luck, they will point the open end down, symbolically pouring luck into the places they work/live. Just what I've seen around here!

There's another element to the horseshoe: wrought iron was historically thought to ward off evil spirits, hence wrought-iron fences around graveyards and D&D's "cold iron"

9:48 I love that J.J. uses the hilarious sketch created for the Crichton Leprauchaun. Basically a bunch of people in Alabama claimed they saw a leprechaun in their neighborhood. The craze spread and wacky hijinks ensued including a couple people claiming to be “professional” leprechaun hunters. The whole situation was absolutely wild.

This is why I have lots of love for your channel such a random topic but actually incredibly interesting! 🥰

The Ottoman usage of the star and crescent came from Constantinople using it as a city symbol. They long aspired to conquer the city before finally doing so I'm 1453, and so used the symbol beforehand. Interestingly, it was a common symbol throughout Anatolia and Mesopotamia for millenia before that. My episode about stars on flags covers this in more detail

For Germany, apart from the four-leaf clover and horseshoe, there are also ladybugs, mushrooms (particularly, stylised fly agarics), pigs, chimney sweeps, as well as coins (traditionally the 1 penny/0.01 German marks coin). Two of them even made it into idioms: "Schwein haben" (literally to have [a] pig) means to be lucky and someone particularly lucky might be called a "Glückspilz" (good luck mushroom).

Sugar used to be advertised as good for kids because it gave them energy. The only sources I have are what boomers told me, but I've been told about it by several people at different times throughout my life.

Watching JJ cutout a star is the most wholesome thing I’ve seen today and it was definitely needed.

I wonder if JJ has ever thought about covering more of the 'artificial flavors'. You know, blue raspberry, bubble gum, Dr. Pepper, flavors that don't have a 'natural' equivalent yet are very well established.

Crossed fingers always strikes me as a weird symbol representing luck (or wishing for luck?). In the UK, the logo for the national lottery is a stylised hand with crossed fingers, with the ring and pinkie fingers used as its eyes. It would be interesting to see what different hand symbols represent both in the US and other cultures. It always fascinates me how we have come to the conclusion that holding our fingers in certain ways can be representative of something (thumbs up etc), or even offensive (middle finger) and where these gestures originate.

J.J. accidentally discarding the star and then confusedly unraveling the scraps. 🎖Award-winning

I think largely because of the era in which I grew up (born in early 2000s, grew up in late 2000s/2010s), I actually never heard the version of the song with the Pot of Gold marshmallow, nor have I eaten a box of Lucky Charms with that marshmallow. I discovered that it was because the Pot of Gold was replaced with a Golden Hourglass in 2008. This is the marshmallow I'm familiar with (although it was also retired in 2018 and replaced by a unicorn). So I remember the song slightly differently as: "Hearts, stars, and horseshoes! Clovers and blue moons! *Hourglasses*, rainbows, and tasty red balloons!" Apparently, because the hourglass has historically been a symbol representing time, the hourglass symbolized the leprechaun's ability to start, stop, and reverse time in order to enjoy and savour the time people had eating the cereal.

Coming from a Japanese background, the first and foremost example of a lucky charm that comes to mind would be the Manji (swastika), along with manekineko and Kumade. I would be heavily interested in lucky charms of any other cultural backgrounds.

This is the type of content we need more of. Combination of the great food, cereal, and deep dives into cultural meaning. Bravo. I edited a typo and accidentally got rid of my heart. So sad

Hats off to J.J. for the leprechaun sketch at 9:48! I find myself going back to that news segment every now and again.

Since you covered “Good Luck”Superstitions here; you should do a video on “Bad Luck” Superstitions (Walking under a Ladder, Knocking over a Salt Shaker, Breaking a Mirror, Black Cats etc.)

The unicorn marshmallows seem like they're sticking around for longer than originally advertised. I think there have been some temporary 'charms' over the years as well, like hourglasses and other items iirc.

I still associate those moderately edible packing peanuts with my grandmother, who was born in 1918. JJ's channel is truly hip with the kids.

On the balloon matter. Nena only specified the colour of the balloons in the English version of the song. I would assume to still have a similar flow of words to the original German version where she sings about "Luftballons" or just Balloons.(literally :air balloons)

Hey JJ, what about the hourglass? They removed it from the lineup in pretty recent years, but i'm curious if you had any idea why the hourglass was considered a "lucky charm".

A famous good-luck symbol from a culture I have always been fascinated with (Japan) is the maneki-neko, or "beckoning cat". Basically, a maneki-neko is a figurine of a cat, usually white or calico, with its paw raised up. In Japan, this expression is a way of beckoning someone, though to Westerners it doesn't read that way. Traditionally, it is placed in shops or other businesses as a way to "beckon in customers" and bring profit, though nowadays, people also keep them in their bedrooms or on their desks as it is thought to bring about success in life. While it originated in Japan, it later spread to China and to East Asian communities around the world. Outside of Japan, it's most commonly seen in Japanese restaurants and Asian-owned businesses, usually placed in the window or near the cash register. We don't know the actual historical reason why this became associated with good luck in Japan, but the Japanese do have a legend about a cat who lived at a Buddhist temple with the monks. One day, a samurai was walking along the road when it started to rain, and he took shelter under a tree. He then saw a cat waving its paw as if to beckon him to the temple, and he went over to get a closer look at it. Once he had walked over to the cat, the tree he was standing under was struck by lightning. The samurai was so grateful to the cat who saved his life that he became a patron of the temple. I, myself, have a lucky cat in my bedroom, which my father bought for me on a business trip in Hong Kong. It's a golden lucky cat, which are specifically supposed to bring wealth. And, considering right now I'm working a job that pays quite well, I guess it's working! :3

I was always told a Blue Moon was when a Full Moon appeared twice in 1 Calendar Month. So if their was a Full moon on the 2nd of May, and on the 30th of May, the one on the 30th would be called the Blue Moon. Although, given that there are 12-13 Lunar months in a Year, "once in a blue moon" roughly means "slightly more than biannually"

My Lucky charms as a 1973 kid had pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, green clovers, and blue diamonds. I distinctly remember the campaign to reveal the new marshmallow "and purple horseshoes!" in 1983. Then later "red balloons" in 1989. These seem like the core line-up before they really went crazy, combining colours and phasing out old marbits in favour of flashy overdone new ones...

Hey J.J, you have to do another video on American Culture Canon, like the one you did on monsters, ice cream, and candy. You should do one on the 8 main genres of American Fiction. Action, Comedy, Romance, Musicals, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical, Horror.

13:35 I was also told it one point that hanging a horseshoe like that was lucky, but the explanation I was given was that luck would be caught inside the horseshoe. I'd never heard the "luck coming out of both ends" version before, interesting that there's more than one explanation for doing it

I was always under the impression the blue moon was whenever there was a second moon within a single month, making it an uncommon sighting.

That's actually a very surface level analysis of the whole blue moon thing. According to various sources, the term originated in the Maine Farmers' Almanac, which defines it as the third of four full moons in a season. Normally, the moon is only full three times every season, since the lunar cycle is roughly one twelfth of the solar year. But since it's not exactly one twelfth, you will occasionally see four full moons in one season. It's basically the lunar equivalent of a leap day, and only occurs every two to three years (more precisely, it occurs seven times every nineteen years). While I can't pin down a date for when the term first appeared in isolation, the Maine Farmers' Almanac was first published in 1819, only a couple of years before 1821, which means the term may have existed on its own before the expression. I don't know where the "second full moon of the calendar year" thing comes from, but it sounds similar to the definition from the _Sky & Telescope_ magazine, which misunderstood the Maine Farmers' Almanac and reported that the blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar _month._ Also, I think it is worth mentioning that the moon can rarely appear blue to the eye, which could be another source for the expression. This is not a regular occurrence, however, and is caused by things like volcanoes and forest fires releasing smoke and ash into the sky. This scatters red light, causing the moon to appear blue, similar to how the sun appears yellow instead of white due to the atmosphere scattering blue light. So I don't think that it really applies to the modern expression, which to me implies some level of regularity. Sorry for the long comment. I just knew some of this beforehand and got really invested in digging everything up.

Horse shoes also have a mythological connection! They were made of iron and it was said that they protected you from the fae or fairies who were considered dangerous

That last part of the video makes me think about all the traditions around (western) wedding ceremonies. I.E. the white dress, tiered white cake, brides makes & groomsmen, etc. My understanding is that those elements are relatively recent, yet we think of them as being rooted in ancient customs.

This is a very timely video in my family. My daughters have been buying Lucky Charms recently when they see it in specialty stores here in Germany (for about 10 Euro a box😶). Last week, we were talking about how much the marshmallows have changed since I remember them (back in the 70s and 80s), and I got to wondering why they changed/added to them over the years and why the specific shapes. Now I know. Thank you, JJ.👍

JJ I absolutely love how animated you are. I've seen you in your interviews aswell. I am brought to ease watching your content as you always bring a genuine nature shut out by many. As a fellow Canadian you make me proud, and your openness gives me pride. Have a gooder anyone reading this :)

A couple months ago I commented on a video about how your videos carried me through my Saturday shifts at work and now you’re carrying me through my move from California to North Carolina. I’ve been dreading being here and realize it was a mistake to come here but you are one of the things I have to look forward to.

Okay, so here’s a thing though: when I was a kid, it was blue diamonds and yellow moons. The moons became blue when they introduced the pot of gold. In some ways, many of the early shapes (like diamonds) were probably chosen because they were simple and easy to make marshmallows of. Though, if you want to go down the diamonds route, maybe you should consider a video about the symbols used for different playing card suits. They vary from country to country. In the U.S., Canada and other places they’re hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs. But in places like Germany and Hungary, it’s acorns, leaves, hearts and bells. And in Italy, it’s swords, staves, coins and cups (which led to the suits of the tarot deck).

Rabbit foot, obviously! As well as albatrosses! Also numbers 3, 7, 9 and 12. One Russian saying goes, "Oh, I haven't recognised you at first - you'll be wealthy!". There is also a tradition to eat five-petal lilac flowers for the lack on an exam - since we have a 5-point grade system it is said to be eaten to get "5" - the highest mark. Also, it said that you shouldn't wash you're had before the exam to not "wash out" the knowledge. I also don't know if it's something specifically Russian, but a blue bird (a bird of such colour doesn't exist in Russia) is said to symbolise lack.

When I was first aware of Lucky Charms as a boy in the 1980s, it was Pink Hearts, Orange Stars, Yellow Moons, Green Clovers, and Blue Diamonds. I remember when Purple Horseshoes and Red Balloons showed up, but not much beyond that. Interesting that the Diamond went away completely, and the Moon turned from Yellow to Blue.

Actually, a more key reason Nena had 99 red balloons in her song was because she needed an extra syllable. In the original song, which was german, the phrase "Neun und neunzig luftballons" was used, which is "Ninety-nine Balloons" in english, or translated literally "Nine and ninety air balloons". Since the german system of numbers adds the second digit onto the multiple of ten, and balloons are referred to with the compound noun "luftballons" the german version of the line was a decent bit longer. So, in the english transliteration of the song, they added in the detail that balloons were red, in order to help pick up some of that slack.

Personally, I've always loved the idea that finding and pucking up a penny is lucky. I don't know how local this is to me but at least in Wales there's a short rhyme that some people sing when someone finds a penny: "find a penny, pick it up, all day long, you'll have good luck"

In the nomadic Tuareg tribe of the Sahara desert, silver is a sacred metal and gold is normally considered unlucky

14:10 The Ottoman Empire got the symbol from the Eastern Roman Empire that preceded it. The star and crescent being a symbol of the Greek city of Byzantium (later renamed to Constantinople when it became the capital of the eastern part of the Roman Empire) since Antiquity, being associated with the patron goddess of Byzantium, Hekate, who was also the goddess of the moon.

Very interesting, especially the balloon. In Norway I'm pretty sure the default color of the balloon is blue, it's because of an old song called "Jeg vil ha en blå ballong".

I remember when I was a teen (so late 80s/early 90s) my sister and I took an online quiz (yes we were early netizens) that said what your personality type was based on what your favourite Lucky Charms marshmallow was. My sister kept teasing me for months when I picked my favourite: the oat bits. (Apparently this meant my personality was dull and boring, which wasn’t wrong …). Her nickname for me for years after was Oat Bit.

This is awesome I would love to see more stuff like this! Anything having to do with the origin of symbols in different cultures is truly fascinating! ❤️

The Heart at 10:37 - The catholic use of the heart shape (1500s) actually postdates its use on heraldry, coats of arms (1200s), and on playing cards (1400s). We actually have no idea; one theory is that some ancient medical textbook described it as shaped like that, another that it's a stylized ivy leaf (symbol of fidelity, because it clings) and people showed lovers offering ivy-shaped hearts, another that it's yonic. But there's an even simpler reason people assumed the heart was the seat of emotion: when you're really sad, the heart is where your brain registers physical pain. It's actually doing that because it doesn't understand what part of you is in pain, but assumes some place HAS to be. So it picks the heart. Wild, huh?

I wasn't exactly expecting this but this is the perfect topic for a JJ video. Putting the bits of American culture that are often taken for granted under a microscope.

My hometown in California back in the 1920s, the Irish were the only people who were actively discriminated against. There were signs that said “no dogs or Irish.” So since my family was Irish, they couldn’t get work anywhere except as firemen and policemen. And guess who didn’t put out fires at those businesses that had the racist signs?

Thanks for the great video! I bought the Nanaimo Bear and am excited for it to arrive!

Le Ballon Rouge is one of my favorite films of all time. I’ve always found it funny how the film was originally black and white, so the color of the balloon had to be specified in the title

This is absolutely 1 of my favorite pages and JJ being 1 of my favorite content creators. It's ALWAYS something interesting that you wouldn't necessarily expect to learn about. Always so informative and NEVER boring or dragging. I reside in Massachusetts so it's not a Canadian thing. Though I am French-Canadian and always get a good snicker when JJ roasts that part of Canada. Keep up the great work bro, much love from the USA!

Loved the arts and crafts portion. 😀

0:58 that is such a weird thing to be fascinated by... That I 100% relate to

I really love his reluctance and snarky "and they're not wrong"

Love these types of videos. No one does historical/cultural videos quite like this. And I feel good watching them knowing JJ (although certainly not 100% accurate (but way more than most!!!)) is well researched and not just a flood of fast internet facts.

Here in Germany, chimney sweeps are among the most common symbols for luck. That has very likely a quite pragmatic origin though, simply because of the fact, that when a chimney sweep was regularly taking care of your chimney, you're going to be "lucky" in a way, so that your house is going to be safe from fire. Which has of course nothing to do with the magic properties of a chimney sweep as such and everything to do with their work. It is a quite common new year's gift, to give somebody a little pot with 4 leafed clovers (you can by a specific breed of clovers, where a they have all 4 leafs), a little figure of a chimney sweep put on top and a little figure of a fly agaric mushroom (which is also next to the chimney sweep and the clovers on of the canon symbols for good luck)

More fun (marshmallow) knowledge nuggets. Also, of your many hairstyles, this is my favourite. Your barber/stylist deserves respect for bringing some coherence to that unruly mop

I dont know if this was a broader national belief at the time or just one specific to his occupation but my great grandmother would talk about how her dad back on Crete (my great great grandfather) would collect food from the sea to sell on the local market ,and whenever he got an octopus if it wrapped around his wrist rather than his arm or hands that would mean some unexpected good fortune would happen to him or his family within a year. NO idea what the symbolism or thought process behind that was and it has always puzzled me

Stunning journalism yet again JJ, thank you for your service

Thank you. Very entertaining, I always enjoy what you have to share. 🥰

I grew up with pink hearts, green clovers, yellow moons, and orange stars. When they added blue diamonds it was so shocking to me. So new and... blue! Then they just starting changing them all the time. Seventies kids remember though.

He's saving the canadian KZfaq but First Lucky Charms YAAAAY

7:35 I love this moment! Glad you kept it in the video!

Smashed that Like. This is quality Canadian content.

when jj uploads you know it's a good day

Also, a red balloon is one of the objects in Goodnight Moon.

I love this video. I have looked at lucky charms and wondered what exactly was lucky about a moon or heart. I'm glad someone is exploring these topics

My favorite cereal and favorite commentator combined! Good start to my day!

We also had a horseshoe at our house and my grandmother would say you needed it with the tines pointing up so the luck wouldn't run out :) Also with a middle name like Patrick and last name O'Keefe, many of the Irish iconography played a significant role in my childhood. But the red balloon... That was a head scratcher when it came out in '89 :). I always remember the catch phrase "Frosted Lucky Charms, they're magically delicious", which of course was enough for me as a child to wildly crave XD. Thanks for this as always JJ, Happy Saturday everyone!

I remember: pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, green clovers and blue diamonds. They were magically delicious!!!

Loved this video!

Love these videos, can't wait for coverage of modern tech related symbols of power, saving, filtering and settings.

In Italy ladybugs are associated with good fortune, because if one touches you, it is said to be a sign of future luck. This is in return very lucky for ladybugs, since are one of the few inserts almost everyone can at least tolerate. Another very famous lucky symbol here, in particular from Naples, is the cornetto (little horn), a red thing witg the shape of a chilli pepper that it's often sold as a key chain. Also related to horns, there's the "horn gesture". It's very similar ti the gesture typically associated with rock music. This symbol can have many different meaning tho: in some cases it's a luck symbol, sometimes it's specifically done to avoid bad luck, other times it can be an offensive gesture and it can also indicate a person that is cheated on (she/he's "horned")

I always heard the luck of the Irish was intended ironically, since horrific things kept happening to them.

Thank you for making this video

I've been watching Lucky's Webisodes called "The Quest" several years ago. They're called Marshmallow Powers, the symbolism of the charms reflect the powers given to Lucky. Heart - Transformation/Animation Star - High flight Horseshoe - Speed Blue Moon - Disappearance Pots of Gold - Illuminating Rainbow - Flight by the trail Red balloon - Floating Crystal Mirror - Prediction Hourglass - Time control

I never knew for years you can buy cereal marshmallows separately. Now I can add them to other’s and make flavors that clash hard.

I can't be the only one who watched this and thought "Surely they just wanted easily identifiable symbols in basic colors like red, green, blue, etc. and there seems to be no categorical reason why these were chosen." I also just learned more about the Irish than I was expecting to learn even in a Lucky Charms video. :D

Great video! You always upload when I'm looking for something to watch

I was taught growing up that a blue moon was the second full moon in one colander month. As this does not happen very often, the saying always made sense to me.

In my multiverse, the *Berestein* Bears were giving a *rabbit's foot* to the children after a visit to the dentist.

The "heart" symbol is also a stylised representation of the external female personal equipment. There was a period when improper post cards displayed a "heart" shape between women's legs.

Favorite KZfaqr hands down!

JJ, let me first say I never comment on KZfaq. But this video was fantastic! And I also love “sets” of things and my absolute favorite videos of yours are these (e.g. the toy symbols video). I don’t know what your metrics say about this *set* of videos, but please, please make more. Thank you for your content- you are fantastically talented and I know a ton of work goes into it.

Growing up, I always heard that a blue moon was the second full moon in a given (Gregorian) month (for example, if you have a full moon on January 2nd and then again on January 29th, the second one is a blue moon). I grew up around Pittsburgh but I believe I heard that particular explanation from relatives in Ohio. I have no idea how common it is though.

Interesting! I was told in my childhood that the heart shape originates from the shape of the leaves of ivy, as it was seen as a good symbol. Also, you could’ve mentioned horseshoe throwing, which is another sometimes somewhat luck-based thing associated with horseshoes.

Another thing that I didn’t know I needed to know. Keep it up JJ!

A banger as always.

In Ireland you can only buy Lucky Charms at American-style sweet shops. My first ever bowl was a life changing experience.

There's another aspect to St. Patrick and clovers. Yes, in part of the legend he used three leafed clovers to explain the Christian trinity, but he later discovered four leafed ones. He was frustrated that the four leafed ones would confuse his followers, so he would eat a four leafed clover whenever he saw one in his travels. In this myth, St. Patrick increased the rarity of four leafed clovers to this day.

The nuance of the amateur leprechaun from early viral videos is just perfection. JJ never fails to sneak in cheeky detail.

Man can talk about anything and I'll be hooked

I used to find 4 leaf clovers all the time in my backyard as a kid. I thought I was really lucky but it turns out the plants just have a genetic mutation 😂

Seeing this and the, I guess, sort of devolution of symbols and how humans behave is beyond fascinating. Wish more people made videos like this. We are all crazy apparently and we seem okay with it. I am, at least. Nice video.

Always a good day when I see a JJ video!

I found the part where you mention that mythical creatures often reflect cultural anxieties really interesting. I think that could be the topic of a whole JJ video in itself.