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u/TheWetSock 13d ago
It appears in middle school and fades in high school. No one knows where it comes from or what it means . They just know it looks cool and they must draw it .
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u/LifeguardPotential97 13d ago
Actually there's a really good video by Lemmino explaining where it might've come from, it's origins are in graffiti and dates back to as early as 1890.
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u/limpdix 13d ago
I was hoping someone would mention our boy u/lemmino, he’s come a long way since his top ten day. Love his videos
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u/TrueBurritoTrouble GigaChad 13d ago
Became a subscriber after his DB Cooper video, man is seriously talented, gave us the iconic music "Cicada" too
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u/extention_cable 13d ago edited 13d ago
dam thought we didn't know who dB was? but he put here makin music!?
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u/mindzze 13d ago
What happened to him? , I love his videos.
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u/Wilco120 13d ago
He's making a very long documentary with 13 chapters or so, he is finnishing it up and itl release somewhere in the coming months, you can check his patreon or r/lemmino for updates
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u/HandImpressive03 13d ago
How about 1533 where it appears in Hans Holbein’s painting The Ambassadors.
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u/HothMonster 13d ago
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u/OkWater2560 13d ago
I can’t find it.
Aha! Also holy crap the zoom level in that photo.
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u/bhongryp 13d ago edited 13d ago
The S is a detail in the center of the
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u/Affenbart 13d ago
It’s not embroidery but a Turkoman style carpet. Which adds another dimension to the search.
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u/Geikamir 13d ago
Seriously. I can see the wood grain pores of Jesus' nipples with that level of zoom.
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u/Unajustable_Justice 13d ago
Just a regular S. It isn't like the one we are talking about at all. The only similarities is the blocked style
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u/bollockwort 13d ago
Took me a few to find it, but I am impressed it's there. I'm also impressed by the detail in the half crucifix hiding behind the curtain
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u/Proplaystowinyt 13d ago
Where did you come from where did you go where did you come from funny looking S
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u/LetTruthSetYouFree 13d ago
Probably because they are the exact lyrics to Cotton Eye Joe with just 3 words switched at the end.
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u/EnriqueShockwav 13d ago
It just showed up on my son’s schoolwork in a doodle. He’s in Kindergarten and I couldn’t be more proud.
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u/Cuddling-Hellhound 13d ago
It’s an SCP!!!
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u/NATHAN325 13d ago
Literally memetic
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u/vinylectric 13d ago
We always knew it as Stüssy. It was some brand in the 90s
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u/SonovaVondruke 13d ago
Stussy never used this icon as part of its branding.
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u/SnooLobsters4972 13d ago
Wait what? This is a Mandela effect because I distinctly remember it being on a shirt in the 90’s
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u/SummerSeaFaery 13d ago
When I was growing up in the ‘90’s in SoCal, I almost got expelled from SECOND GRADE for putting this “gang sign” on my artwork I turned in for homework. So, that’s my guess. Gang sign.
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u/DeylanQuel 13d ago
I don't know, but I'm pretty sure the guy that taught us to draw it is the same guy that told us about Marylin Manson getting a rib removed and Richard Gere having gerbil-related issues.
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u/lmkwe 13d ago
Holy shit I know that guy!
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u/DeylanQuel 13d ago
That's the thing... everybody knows that guy. That guy was spreading rumors and desk-art far and wide across the globe. He was like the Santa Claus of pre-internet middle schoolers.
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u/Bobletoob 13d ago
He's the real scp
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u/CosmicCryptid_13 Smol pp 13d ago
Ya know…that’d make a pretty cool scp. All he does is poses as (shapeshifts into?) a middle-schooler and spreads urban legends and stuff
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u/yuyuyashasrain 13d ago
I’m convinced. Canon accepted
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u/CosmicCryptid_13 Smol pp 13d ago
Same. Now I wanna make an scp entry for it. Or something. I could workshop the idea and stuff.
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u/yuyuyashasrain 13d ago
Please do
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u/CosmicCryptid_13 Smol pp 13d ago
Aight I’ll make something. I already have my own universe based on urban legends and stuff so I’ll make something then I’ll spin it for other universes
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u/APileOfShiit 13d ago
Containment procedure: Each week introduce a tween age child into enclosure, making sure they have no knowledge of any urban legends. In case of security breach, check [REDACTED] School for a strange "new kid" and encourage to reenter enclosure.
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u/mindbleach 13d ago
Too direct. He's an apparition caused by chemicals in SysCo pizza. You can still see him today, if you go to a really shitty cafeteria, but he might manifest in your brain as a dude who's really into crypto.
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u/ryohazuki224 13d ago
The fact that those things, like cooties or even the idea of cooties, or words like "umbers!" spread in the pre-internet days means that humanity is just determined to spread memes, no matter what.
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u/Beamstalk44 13d ago
Its also the same guy that taught the 2 different paper fold games. One was like square and folded up. The other had a weird shape were u could grip it from the bottom. Both had something to do with fortune telling.
The crazy thing many may not remember. This is also the guy that taught you the "yankle doodle" satire memes in elementary.
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u/Zarathustrahn 13d ago
Don't forget the rumor that Taco Bell's meat is considered just barely meat.
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u/sixtus_clegane119 13d ago
Chihuahua meat. That’s why there is a chihuahua in the commercials
Also the hotel level of goldeneye you could get to by using game shark and going across the river in the dam level.
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u/Extra-Imagination-13 13d ago
I forgot about the little chihuahua 🥹what if they cloned it and used the clones
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u/boringsimp 13d ago
Yes... i heard the marylin mansin thing as well. Also that corey Taylor slit a ladys throat for satan. And had operation on his forehead to push back his hairline. So he can fit the mask better.
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u/Original-Childhood 13d ago
In my school it was Justin Timberlake who removed a rib
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u/Clover2008 13d ago
So the gerbil thing not true?
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u/DeylanQuel 13d ago
Nah, others are saying it was a rumor that was drummed up by Stallone, but that's a little less fun.
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u/Clover2008 13d ago
My world has been shattered. FYI, in 3rd grade Andrew K told me about Marilyn and Mr Gere, and in 6th grade same dude drew that S everywhere.
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u/hbilalshah 13d ago
This guy made a video on the origin of it a few years ago
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u/AjarTadpole7202 13d ago
Before I click on the link, is that lemino?
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u/DireWolfPvP 13d ago
Yes
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u/HungrySeaweed1847 13d ago
Damn, I was hoping that it would be a more conclusive video.
Lemmino is great entertainment but what a disappointment that video was.
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u/dontfactcheckthis 13d ago
TL;DW?
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u/LittleWaithu 13d ago
No official origin is ever discovered but there’s many possibilities based off earliest appearances.
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u/1DayIllDieButNot2Day 13d ago
It really is an scp
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u/ExceptionTheGOAT 13d ago
What's the fuck is a scp?
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u/Frost5574 Dirt Is Beautiful 13d ago
SCP (Secure Contain Protect) Foundation is a user made world where there's monsters and weird shit called anomalies and they're ranked on how dangerous they are. From least to most dangerous; safe, euclid, and keter.
If you ever hear storied of SCP-173 or SCP-096, the numbers indicate a specific monster or weird shit. They each have their own stories and powers. Most of the time they just kill shit. All of them contain the letters SCP to indicate they're part of the foundation.
Imagine an organized creepypasta but each pasta shares the same universe. They're also controlled by this super government organization that collects and contains these SCPs.
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u/nicolasmcfly Flair Loading.... 13d ago
It's earliest appearance is on the background graffiti of a 70s documentary and nobody seems to know where it came from.
Also, Too Lazy, Didn't "Write"?
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u/dontfactcheckthis 13d ago
Watch. And isn't L long? I meant long but I guess I am lazy. So thank you!
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u/TellAPhony 13d ago
Beat me to it. This video is excellent.
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u/Ok-Mulberry-7237 13d ago
Beat meat to it. This video is excellent.
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u/naheana 13d ago
reminded me immediately of that video. too bad he couldn’t actually discover the origin.
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u/xJanise 13d ago
"cool s" or "standard grafitti s" are 2 names ik are used for it
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u/ThatOneNerd21 13d ago
I called it super s
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u/Narrow-Tap116 13d ago
Whaaaaat all throughout my time in school it was distinctly known as the "gangster s"
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u/Similar_Election5864 13d ago
It was the sk8er s for us. It was cool and obviously only the coolest people could write/draw it properly ahah
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u/Red_Neck_Slim_Jim https://www.youtube.com/watch/dQw4w9WgXcQ 13d ago
Me n my friends call it the "Skateboard S"
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u/Mulder1917 13d ago
The original viral meme. Before the internet, it was drawn by all kids in all schools nationwide.
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u/NesCie0617 13d ago
Try all around the world. It was pretty big in Asia as well. I’m pretty sure it was well known in Europe too
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u/Hillz44 13d ago
Just “The S”
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u/Bardic_Space_Orc 13d ago
It really doesn't need more. If you ask someone if they drew "the s" in school they will know what you mean.
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u/Stickytape777 13d ago edited 13d ago
In the 90s it was referred to as the Stussy or stoo-see symbol.
Edit: Holy guacamole! Never thought I'd get a reaction like this lol. Love the comments.
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u/marginwalker3 13d ago
wait, stoo-see? it's not stuh-see?
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u/Stickytape777 13d ago
That's how everyone I knew said it lol They always said it like Stoo-see
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u/IntoTheMystic1 13d ago
Was it just a SoCal thing in the 90s or was it pretty universally known as stussy?
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u/Runinbearass 13d ago
Clothing brand
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u/Starexcelsior 13d ago
And yet they never used this S
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u/ProfZussywussBrown 13d ago
I’d swear I had a Stüssy hat with the S in the early 90s, but I would not at all be surprised if it was a Mandela effect, Fruit of the Loom cornucopia type situation.
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u/NeedsMoreBunGuns 13d ago
Although frequently referred to as the Stüssy S, Emmy Coats (who has worked alongside Shawn Stussy since 1985) has stated that it was never a symbol of the Californian surf company.
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u/GerFubDhuw 13d ago
I'd never even heard of that brand before 2016. The S I knew and where I'm from we definitely didn't call it stussy... Not saying that stussy wasn't around but it wasn't in the popular consciousness like the S was.
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u/A_fellow_crusader 13d ago
I though it meant savage, but it seems like the entirety of the internet has a different explanation
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u/Hoopsie_Doopsie 13d ago
I always called it the Superman S. Lol. I doubt that’s correct tho.
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u/YhormBIGGiant 13d ago
Chinese S
Cool S
THE S
S
Like....we all just know what it is. We know the instructions, it must be hard coded in our brain or something or is just THE pattern that our brain defaults to.
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u/Elliothc13 13d ago
"Cool S" or "Universal S" if I remember correctly. LEMMINO made a good video investigating where it could have come from:
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u/oborse 13d ago
I always thought it meant Stussy
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u/Bjorn_Gylfi Identifies as a Cybertruck 13d ago
Reccomend watching “the universal S” by Lemmino, very good video!
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u/exploooooosions 13d ago
These days we all know it isn't related to Stüssy but we all called it the Stüssy S back in the 80s
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u/Anxious_Extreme_6532 13d ago
Always called it an “S Chain” cause u could continue doing it from the top or bottom to form a chain shape
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u/LittleWaithu 13d ago
The universal S, here’s an interesting video of you wanna learn about it by Lemmino
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u/_Bluntzzz 13d ago
I have an S in my name and for a little while I would do the holy grail of all S’s the all mighty whenever I’d write my name on schoolwork
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u/PurpleCatWithC4 hates reaction memes 13d ago
I gotta say I just drew stick people having wars on my paper, and tanks, helicopters..I think I was always day dreaming about playing C&C Generals and just you know made my own story to it, I even wrote text to it explaining the battle, the story
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u/LeviathanEugenious 13d ago
So I've read the s is called a "cool S" and it's earliest known place is in a 1533 painting called "the ambassadors". It's right in the middle of the table cloth
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u/IreneLyman 13d ago
Ah, the nostalgic memories! It was around the late 80s when Stussy, the clothing brand, emerged, coinciding with our early adventures of sketching those designs.
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u/TurdSandwich42104 Average r/memes enjoyer 13d ago
Does this still happen in middle school today?
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u/Smolbeanigar 12d ago
I draw d*cks on the back of my notes during my middle school
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u/X03R_mysterious Ok I Pull Up 13d ago
fun fact! we dont know the origin of the cool S and its circled around the world
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u/TacovilleMC 13d ago
FINALLY, MY KNOWLEDGE HAS USE!!!
The great name for this holy symbol, as it is know among mortals, is the great "Somersloop". Use this knowledge with care.
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u/Ulpian02 13d ago
My mom unironically believed it was a satanic summoning rune