The Universal S

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People from all over the world have been drawing this S-shaped symbol for decades yet no one seem to know anything about it. In this video I explore some of the popular origin theories and showcase my own findings after five years of on and off searching.

Patreon: www.patreon.com/lemmino
Subreddit: www.reddit.com/r/lemmino
Twitter: twitter.com/lemmin0

[Music]
Jazz Spastiks - Bananas Instrumental
jazzspastiks.bandcamp.com/track/bananas-instrumental
Fabien Tell - Never Before
www.epidemicsound.com/track/vYhGIQi5p6
Jazz Spastiks - Fresh Oranges Instrumental
jazzspastiks.bandcamp.com/track/fresh-oranges-instrumental
Grant Newman - Last March of Heroes
www.epidemicsound.com/track/dTSZSYrpwJ
Jazz Spastiks - Apples Instrumentals
jazzspastiks.bandcamp.com/track/apples-instrumental
Jon Björk - Divisive Alliance
www.epidemicsound.com/track/QgftTsL1p3
Charles Holme - Informal Parameters
www.epidemicsound.com/track/CtauqiUO4H
Fabien Tell - The Farmer
www.epidemicsound.com/track/CMh170ud8g

[Credits & References]
www.lemmi.no/post/the-universal-s

سرگرمی

Ajoutée

10 août 2019

stussyletter ss symbols things signsuper ssuperman ssuper s stussyslipknotstyxsuzukilogosacred reichgraffitidrawingpaintingdoodlescribblenumber 8infinity symbolouroborosfigure 8mysterious spointy stwo rows of three vertical linesschoolclassroommöbius stripmoebius stripskater sstoner ssurfer sgangsta sgangster scool ssmile spuzzlematchstick puzzlejon naarsator squarekilroy was herememeuniversity

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Commentaires 14 295

Dylan Camp Il y a 18 secondes

To me it was always the Stussy S, because it featured prominently on their clothing in the 90s.

Snivy is epick Il y a minute

Imagine if he did this video for a school project. He would get an instant F for gang signs. P.S. Great video.

UnchartedSky Il y a minute

I love how including myself, there are 2 million others out there that are fascinated in and love learning about things with such little purpose.

Keko keko Il y a 2 minutes

I suspect drew it and I was in Egypt

BWM Il y a 3 minutes

I absolutely love that this entire video is predicated on the internet being unable to tell a lie. You are hilarious. Subscribed.

Zack Attack Il y a 4 minutes

I remember my long lost friend showing me this symbol and just figured that it was some sort of gang sign.

tsunami tutu Il y a 4 minutes

I'm from Iraq and I love designing logos and signs and I've always seen the symbol as an 8 not an S, also something interesting, I made a code language when I was 12 years old and my favorite number is 8 since I was a kid and still is, and my name when I converted it in the code language appeared to be 'thetah' which is so similar in pronunciation to greek letter 'theta', so I designed a symbol with elliptic shape that resembles both 'theta' and number 'eight' and I named my design 'th8a' or 'theighta' which is pronounced 'theita' combining both 'theta' and 'eight' and the most shocking thing to me is that 'theta' is the 8th letter in the greek alphabet. so yeah :P

Steven 1773 Il y a 4 minutes

I seen this S form a 50 cent video then copied it form that but who knew it was this.

Thoma Il y a 5 minutes

I always thought this was some kind of graffiti letter and nothing more, because there is so many different styles of letters made by graffiti artist. I'm sure many artist has made this by "themselves" and thought they were the first because it's so simple but still looking so dang good

Bob van Woesik Il y a 6 minutes

Does anyone know which keyboard he is using?

Officer Earl Il y a 7 minutes

you didn't show czech and slovakia on the map we used to draw this symbol all the time exepct i was the only one that didn't know how to draw it

Decline Il y a 9 minutes

When your last name started with S 😤

obsado! Il y a 10 minutes

SUMMARY: *its an s*

FireCat HAUS Il y a 10 minutes

Why do you have a german keybord?

TurboAalgaEntertainment Il y a 17 minutes

It's the Suzuki logo

MrStork Il y a 17 minutes

5:04 Oh my God....

Seki09 Il y a 19 minutes

On your map Czech republic and Slovakia remained white while we used to draw this all the time as kids. I'm from Slovakia. Maybe you just don't have much Slovak followers.

SannaLodin Il y a 19 minutes

Funny, smart, manically investigating, thanks for another great vid Lemmino!!

Fraser McFadyen Il y a 21 minute

Year 2079: "Anyone remember that 'L' we used to draw?" "What the Lemmino L?" ...

American 350 Il y a 23 minutes

Why is background music similar to a call jingle in Skype? Got me a few times, even though I don't use Skype for like 2 years

5imbah Il y a 26 minutes

I thought it was a sketchers S.... at least that's what we called it

Joe Gerard Il y a 27 minutes

the editing in these videos is soooo clean

Alexander A. Il y a 27 minutes

I approve this was and still is viral in Bulgaria.

Michael mayne Il y a 28 minutes

My friends all told me it was a gang sign from the south side lmao

Kronan20 Il y a 28 minutes

Är du Svensk?

Bonezee Il y a 28 minutes

What if aliens landed on Earth thousands of years ago and they bore a symbol very similar to this as the icon of their race; and now people draw it subconsciously as tribute to them, without knowing truly what it is for?

PucK3001 Il y a 29 minutes

I'm halfway through, and I remember falling into it. I think it's an easy pattern you develop from sketching. So it could have many independent "origins".

Sirius Il y a 30 minutes

I thought I've already watched this wtf

NessMasterGengar! Il y a 30 minutes

I always thought it was the Scooby Doo logo

Florescu Andrei Il y a 33 minutes

learned this in romania in early school, you can use a variation of this pattern to create straw buckets and the like..

Augusto Severini Il y a 34 minutes

It bothered me throughout the whole video how he chose to draw the simbol in a wag such the angle of the midle section is not the same as that of top and bottom.

SUBSCRIBE TO PEWDIEPIE Il y a 35 minutes

Holy shit...I live in NJ and have seen Princeton University with my very own eyes. Wow.

Paul Thompson Il y a 35 minutes

It's just one of those cool line drawing tricks. My dad used to draw shapes, while we watched him draw, simple circles and squiggly lines would transform into a clown or a WW1 pilot with goggles and flappy cheeks. It's kinda cool know that maybe the S came from an old geometry teacher though.

SunnyD Il y a 36 minutes

Ive never heard of, drawn, or seen the symbol until i was around my teens and had access to the internet. This is probably because i was isolated from other children by home schooling and my parent's religious activities. And then I also happen to be a artist- and Im kind of glad because repetitively drawing a symbol just because its easy is kind of sad to me X")

Dessert Storm Il y a 37 minutes

I think this is a very simple explanation. The rounded S symbol is basically a figure 8 drawn in sand or dirt. Try it yourself, where the line crosses in the middle it automatically creates the 3d overlap effect. BEfore people had regular access to paper or vellum, they would draw in the dirt with a stick, and the rounded S symbol is how a figure 8 would appear. I do not claim to know what it represented, but its a symbol that is easy to recognise and can be drawn in one stroke, so I don't doubt that it was commonly used for various groups to mean any number of things.

Omg Gamer Il y a 38 minutes

JosephGallagher Il y a 39 minutes

Hahaha, first video I watch from this chanel. Subscribed.

Random Penguiness Il y a 40 minutes

haven't seen this channel in a while

Дмитрий Иванович Il y a 40 minutes

graffiti? that's nice, what does it says?

Magnus Buht Il y a 43 minutes

more important question.. what in the heavens is that keyboard???

Havox Il y a 46 minutes

Finding where it came from is one thing. but what started everybody drawing it? like who taught the kids back in the 70s how to draw it or how did the first kids come up with it? its just weird

dema don't control us Il y a 47 minutes

the mere fact that you took years to research this just shows how much care you put into your videos. dude you deserve every view and sub you have and much more!

DELES Il y a 49 minutes

The year is 2058, there are rumours Half life 3 being announced in 5 years, and yet, after around a total of 2500000 hours of digging and digging, we still, have no damn idea of where or when did this symbol started

Latenight Il y a 51 minute

Smile was the full word

Callum Macey Il y a 53 minutes

Swilly S

PK-JIN Il y a 54 minutes

Used to draw these in 4th grade in a missionary school in Indonesia 2004-2005.

_ NEGAN _ Il y a 54 minutes

It’s obviously a slipknot symbol, duh?! Lol

Osmium Il y a 55 minutes

This video gives my Goosebumps at the fact of all this research and life behind something seemingly so simple. I LOVE THIS!

Gage Willson Il y a 56 minutes

I remember for like a year, drawing this would get you suspended at my middle school.

gianttigerfilms Il y a 57 minutes

Thanks! I drew this is in middle school in 2009 and thought it was a gang sign 😂

Sense Of Amendments Il y a 57 minutes

Do you genuinely use duckduckgo

Dennis Shows Il y a heure

@ 7:51 the shape of the end of the fingers and the ratio of the 2nd and 4th fingers length stood out to me. The slightly bulbous tip of the fingers is sometimes correlated with heart problems. The ration of the 2nd and 4th finger length could also correlate with sexual orientation.

P4v3 Il y a heure

what a bout nordic patterns?

perseus the first Il y a heure

My elementary had it

X X Il y a heure

Can we just take a moment to realise the amount of effort this guy puts in his videos. Wow, just wow...!!!

Byakuya Asukai Il y a heure

Serbia wasn't coloured red yet I remember my classmates in primary school drawing this symbol in 2004. So +1 country

SteeW Il y a heure

The actual universal symbol drawn in every school's blackboard is the Almighty penis.

DELES Il y a heure

i thought it was the "Sikdope" logo

ignacio mendez Il y a heure

Growing up In the ghetto it was always the south side S

Scottis Il y a heure

we drew this on desks and everything in elementary school. from like 2003-2006

Logic Il y a heure

See LEMMiNO video: I click Before I watch: I like

the game bustr Il y a heure

took you long enough

Royed King Il y a heure

Well zoinks scoob this mystery has been solved....

Amelia Says: Il y a heure

Gal from Norway here. My mom showed me how to draw this for Just about 15 years ago. She showed me the variant with the horizontal ends in the "other veriants" section of the video. She told me she and her classmates used to draw it when they were young as well

Da Roze Il y a heure

that explains the mystery of LEMMiNO not uploading

PantakesVGP Il y a heure

Im from Greece and when i was a kid, my Mother would always draw the word "smile" with this S in it, so i learned it from her. I always loved drawing it.

ha! you just got benjamin prankedlin! Il y a heure

your content is one of the best on youtube man!! never stop doing what you’re doin !!

Per Nindiker Il y a heure

Wtf i drew the smile with palm trees when i was young wtf dude that is scary shit i live in germany but i drew one like the ones in the video

El BigShegun Il y a heure

Only OGs remember drawing these in your notebooks lol Sur13 S lmaooo

jiggus figgus Il y a heure

Universal S for Spongebob and Universal S for Sandy! That way they can identify their bodies!

Darth Mauldin Il y a heure

My man doing God’s work over here

Elizabeth Armitage Il y a heure

I learnt to draw this symbol at Church sometime in the mid - late 2000s.

Snappl's Palace Il y a heure

Grafitty

Dan Knight Il y a heure

Maybe I’m missing something, but this is just a stylized “S” and what’s so special about this? So it’s very common, but among all the examples shown, even, is some variation. Point being, why does there need to be an “origin?”

Sarah Fitzgerald Il y a heure

I always thought that S was cool and I would draw it sometimes but I was always told it was a gang symbol and not to draw it :/

KevinShultz Il y a heure

It is a symbol of European colonialism. Wherever they went that 's' emerged..

Michael Sandell Il y a heure

I definitely think it goes back to graffiti done by gangs on the west coast; it was banned in my LA-area elementary school in the very late 90s/early 2000s because it was considered a "gang sign".