The Luckiest Charm

There’s something sweet and nostalgic about a big bowl of Lucky Charms cereal on a Sunday morning. I’m aware that they’re just glorified cheerios with dehydrated marshmallows, but that doesn’t make me love it any less. And with St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner I decided to do some research on the sweet cereal—here are 7 lucky facts about the cereal I think you’ll find charming. 

1. Lucky Charms were invented in 1963 when General Mills had an overstock of cheerios and needed a quick solution to repurpose them before they went bad. 

2. The mini marshmallows in Lucky Charms are called Marbits. They were invented in 1963 and based on the candy circus peanuts. 

3. The Lucky Charms mascot, “Lucky the Leprechaun” or “Sir Charms”, was originally named “L.C. Leprechaun” 

4. The oats component of Lucky Charms wasn’t originally sugar-coated. But when the cereal underperformed, they added the coating and sales took off. 

5. Lucky the Leprechaun was briefly replaced in 1975 by “Waldo the Wizard”. But after strong public backlash, Lucky was quickly reinstated. 

6. Actor Arthur Anderson was the first to voice Lucky the Leprechaun. 

7. The original Lucky Charms cereal featured four marshmallows: green clovers, pink hearts, orange stars and yellow moons. To this day, the heart is the only original shape to remain in the mix.

Wow, talk about a lucky start to your morning! Who knew the history of a simple breakfast cereal could be so interesting? I think I’m going to pour myself a bowl. Happy eating!