The narrator, who had spent five years searching for the origin of a stylized symbol in the shape of the letter 'S', finally found some clues. The symbol was associated with a global phenomenon, recognized by people from all over the world. The narrator's search led them to various theories, such as its association with the American clothing brand Stüssy, the Japanese car and motorcycle company Suzuki, and even a rock or metal band. However, none of these theories provided concrete evidence of the symbol's origin.
The narrator also found evidence of the symbol's presence in graffiti, specifically in an art piece by Jean-Michel Basquiat from 1982. This piece was titled the "CLASSIC S OF GRAFF". The narrator also discovered that the symbol was featured in a photobook about graffiti, "The Faith of Graffiti", published in 1974 by photographer Jon Naar.
In a surprising twist, the narrator found an illustration of the symbol in a book titled "Mechanical Graphics", published in 1890. This led them to speculate that the symbol could be over a century old, and that it may have originated from a school where its drawing was taught as a neat trick.
Despite these discoveries, the narrator concluded that the mystery of the origin of the symbol remains unsolved. The symbol's global recognition and easy drawability make it a perfect candidate for a meme, but the mystery lies in its origin. The narrator expressed their exhaustion with the topic and ended their video with a final note of uncertainty about the symbol's origin.
1. The speaker received an email with a link to an article titled "Solve the Mystery of the Pointy S" in 2014. The article was about a stylized symbol in the shape of the letter S.
2. The symbol was recognized by people from all over the world, who reported learning to draw it as children or teenagers.
3. The speaker found over 40 online discussions about the symbol after enabling investigation mode on their board of keys.
4. The symbol was strongly associated with the American clothing brand Stüssy, and many even refer to the symbol as a Stüssy.
5. The speaker found a list of more than 27,000 comments from online discussions about the symbol, and after filtering out all the false positives, ended up with a list of 1,215 comments which mentioned a country where this symbol had been seen or drawn.
6. The symbol is practically universal, with an overrepresentation of English-speaking countries like the US, UK, and Australia.
7. The speaker found a comment posted by a user on Reddit back in 2011, stating that The Universal S began as a puzzle.
8. The speaker found a matchstick puzzle featured in a magazine titled Dynamite, published by the American publisher Scholastic.
9. The speaker found a photograph by an artist named Jean-Michel Basquiat, painted in New York in 1982, featuring the symbol.
10. The speaker discovered that the symbol was featured in a movie Piranha from 1978.
11. The speaker found a collection of photographs taken in Los Angeles in the early 1970s by photographer Howard Gribble, featuring the number 8 in a style reminiscent of the The Universal S.
12. The speaker found an illustration featured in a book titled Mechanical Graphics, published in 1890, showing a version of the symbol.