The deck of 52 cards are known to everyone irrespective of whether they have used the cards to play or not. We can play many card games using these 52 cards like solitaire, freecell, rummy, flash card game, etc. But, have you ever observed the cards in details? Well, if you haven’t yet, do check all the 4 cards of Kings. The King of Hearts don’t have a moustache! And also one more unusual thing, what is it?

Whether you knew this or not, you must have surely started wondering ‘why?’. Of course there is only one reason why this one king is different than the other 3. But there are also some myths, some false stories prevalent among the masses, let’s have a look at them:

Story 1:

According to one English legend, there was a king who had four sons. One fine day, he decided to divide his kingdom between his four sons and he thought of a unique way of doing this. He hired artists and they painted his four sons. After that, he wrote a poem in which he stated that he will preclude the strange looking son (king) out from his legacy. Then everyone noticed that out of his four sons, the king of hearts didn’t have a moustache. When the time came for his kingdom to be parted, the king of hearts was not considered in his inheritance as he wasn’t having a moustache. Thus, the king of hearts was bifurcated from the other 3 kings.

Story 2:

Another story says that, it is considered as a disguise and represents cunning to have a moustache by anybody. Hence, the kings of spades, diamonds, and clubs are associated with war, wealth, and death and are viewed as corrupt. On the other hand, the king of hearts is viewed as a clean, pure, and open, who does not have any artificiality. Hence, he is depicted as clean-shaven.

The Real Reason:

A large-scale manufacturing of these playing cards was done by printing them only on woodblocks in the 16^th century. During the reproduction of cards throughout the centuries, many disfiguring in the design and shapes of the cards occurred because the ‘incompetent’ blockmakers distorted the true and real design of the cards. Thus, originally it is said that the King of hearts had a moustache before, but because of the gradual distortion by the blockmakers and wear-n-tear on the blocks, he lost his moustache.

Another thing to notice on the king of hearts, is the sword which looks like he (weirdly) is putting it in the back of his head and attempting to kill himself. The reason of distortion comes into play here too. Originally, he was holding an ‘axe’, that too in the vertical position. But, gradually it turned into a horizontal sword. If we look around us, every small change, difference, or weirdness has a meaning behind it. The deck of 52 cards have been in existence since centuries, and hence, have accumulated many such fascinating stories or facts about them. Do you know any other such reason why a card is different? Do tell us in the comments below.