Playing cards are so common today that we take them for granted. But, have you ever really looked closely at them or wondered what they could mean?Like, who is that suave King that doesn’t have a moustache? Here are 10 Things You Don’t Know About Playing Cards.
Be Amazed at these Top 10 Things You Don’t Know About Playing Cards! Cards inspired many sayings – Many terms used during card games have been adopted as phrases in general life. Let’s look at a straightforward example first – ‘to follow suit’. How the four suits arose – It is generally agreed that playing cards originated in China in the 9th century before spreading to many other countries. Why there is a joker – The joker card first appeared in printed card decks in the 1860s. The card was used as the Best Bower, which was an extra trump card in the new American version of the game Euchre. Why the King of Hearts doesn’t have a moustache – If you’ve ever played close attention to the Kings in your card deck, you’ll have noticed the King of Hearts is unique for a couple of reasons. The King of Hearts is stabbing himself – The second unique thing about the King of Hearts relates to his weapon. Until the 1800s his weapon of choice was a battle axe, and yet today he holds a sword.
Why there are 52 cards in a deck – It’s the French we can thank for there being 52 cards in a standard deck. Different countries developed different versions of card decks which ranged from 24 to 52 cards. The court cards were attributed with personalities of historical figures – Because the court cards obviously represent positions in social hierarchy, over time people came to attribute historical royal figures to these cards. Why is the Ace of Spades is different? Ever noticed that the Ace of Spades often has a more ornate design than other aces?This practice originated in Europe in the 16th century, where there was a tax on the manufacturing of playing cards. It’s possible a deck of cards has never been properly shuffled and yielded the same result in all of history – You’ll be aware that there are many ways to shuffle a deck of cards. The most common are rifle shuffling, as used in casinos, Hindu shuffles, commonly used in Asia, and the overhand shuffle, which is perhaps the easiest technique. Design secrets behind Bicycle cards – The United States Playing Card Company owns Bicycle brand cards which are the most iconic cards worldwide, originating from the first back design which featured penny-farthing.
