Why is there a joker in playing card decks? - Big Questions - (Ep. 208) | Mental Floss

Hi, I'm Craig. I'm a joker, not a smoker, nor a midnight toker, and this is Metal Floss Video

Today I'm going to answer Margaret's big question. Why is there a joker in playing card decks

Let's get started. Okay. Joker's wild. You in? Ante up. Five dollars. Are you in

Playing cards have been around since the ninth century in China. They made their way to Europe in the 14th century

And the Joker card probably wasn't invented until the 1860s when it emerged in the United States

Those free-wheeling Joker 60s. We can't be sure exactly why or when it was invented, but most experts connect it to the game Euchre

The game requires a trump card, so there was always a highest trump card. But up until the invention of the Joker, it had many different incarnations

which went by names like Bauer, Imperial Bauer, and Highest Trump Card

Or that card that's really, really big and important. The first known example of this is a Samuel Hart and Company playing card from 1862 featuring

a tiger. And an 1865 pack has a card with the text, this card takes either Bauer, Imperial Bauer

or Highest Trump card. The Bauer card probably evolved into a Joker because Euchre evolved from a German game

called Joker. And this makes sense considering Bauer was also inspired by a German word Plus decks of cards have to be relatively generic so the Joker was a welcome addition because it gave manufacturers a chance to design unique cards that went with their brand Those poor bored manufacturers

Some experts also believe that Joker cards were inspired by Italian tarot cards, which featured a character known as the Fool. This actually makes sense because the modern 52

deck of cards, which came about in the 15th century, may have also been inspired by tarot

decks. Everything makes sense, guys. This is great. Jumping forward in time, after the Joker had been in the United States for a decade or

two, it became pretty standard. It started popping up in Europe in poker games. Then

it became a regular part of 52 card decks. And then it would just show up at parties

With dip. It was well established enough by 1868 that in the book The Modern Pocket Hoyle

my nickname in high school, the Joker is described as integral to two variants of Euchre and

the game Pedro Sancho. Well, my other nickname in high school. It's worth mentioning that

some have claimed the Joker may have been invented to be the wild card for poker, but most card experts believe in the Euchre theory. So just...idiot

Thanks for watching Mental Floss Video, which is made with the help of all these nice aces. You thought I was going to say jokers

But if you have a big question of your own that you'd like answered, leave it below in the comments. See you next week

All right. Got a pair. Boom! What do you got, Mark? Royal Flush