Many people recognize the ace of spades as the ’signature’ card in a deck, but what most probably don’t realize is that the intricate illustrations are not simply for decoration. In the 1600’s King James I of England passed a law requiring an insignia on the card as proof of manufacturing tax payment. This mundane little fact is only one in a string of hundreds that tie playing cards integrally into history, art, government, philosophy, fortune, creativity, diversion, probability, and unlimited potential.

The amount of time, effort, energy, and creativity that has gone into developing playing cards as they exist in their current form is truly mind-boggling. For hundreds of years, artists from all over the world have developed their own version of playing cards, each adding their own bit of history, culture, and style to what has become a familiar household object (or set of objects, depending on your perspective).

Fortunes have been won, lost, and told (though with varying degrees of accuracy) over a deck of cards. Countless games have been created, ranging from incredibly simple, to incredibly complicated; there is so much potential held in a single deck of cards.

Countless other objects are taken for granted on a daily basis, all of them have a unique history, and all of them have something to teach. Open your eyes to the interesting stories (and histories) all around you. The next time you flip a light switch, ask yourself how it came to be that you could light a room with one simple motion. Consider the elements working in harmony all around you, each has something unique to say about who we are, how we got here, and where we are headed.