The 50-Year History of Lucky Charms, in 65 Marbits

It all began with a bowl of Cheerios and a couple of circus peanuts. Those were the base ingredients that John Holahan, vice president of General Mills, opted to experiment with when he and his team were given six months to create a new brand of cereal that would be a hit with kids.

Holahan’s research took him to the grocery store, which is where the oat cereal-plus-sugar combo occurred to him. It may not seem like a revolutionary recipe by today’s breakfast cereal standards, but it was back then: Lucky Charms became the first marshmallow cereal.

As the true breakfast of champions celebrates its 50th birthday, we’re looking back at all the marshmallow bits—“marbits” to the initiated—that have appeared in boxes of Lucky Charms over the years.

1. – 4. GREEN CLOVERS, PINK HEARTS, ORANGE STARS, AND YELLOW MOONS

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Lucky Charms’ original lineup of four marbits didn’t change for more than a decade, though the cereal itself did. When the brand fell short of its original sales expectations, the solution seemed simple: more sugar. In 1967, the oat bits got a sugar coating, and sales quickly improved.

5. BLUE DIAMONDS

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In 1975, General Mills decided to add a fifth marbit—a blue diamond—to the lineup. It was removed 20 years later.

6. PURPLE HORSESHOES

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Many of Lucky Charms’ marbits are defined by the powers they offer to the brand’s mascot, Lucky the Leprechaun. The purple horseshoe, which was added in 1983, gives Lucky the power to speed things up.

7. – 8. SWIRLED CHARMS

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The colors got all mixed up—literally—in 1984, when a factory mishap led to several batches of swirled marbits. In 1986, they introduced a swirled whale, who turned out to be no heavyweight when it came to sales; he was quickly discontinued. The penchant for swirls continued into the new millennium when swirled marshmallow charms made a comeback in 2009.

9. RED BALLOONS

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When Lucky the Leprechaun celebrated his 25th anniversary in 1989, he was feted with a red balloon marbit, which remains in the permanent lineup.

10. – 11. HOLIDAY CHARMS

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Lucky Charms’ 1989 holiday edition was simple enough: all red and green marbits in various holiday-themed shapes.

12. GREEN TREES

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Lucky Charms took an eco-friendly approach to a limited-edition box in 1991: Eat enough of their new green tree marshmallows, mail in a couple of UPCs, and get your very own live tree.

13. RAINBOWS

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The pink, yellow, and blue rainbow marbits that made their debut in 1992 supposedly gave Lucky the power of teleportation.

14. POTS OF GOLD

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A pot of gold is the goal of every leprechaun, and Lucky finally got his—a yellow and orange combo piece—in 1994.

15. BLUE MOONS

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We can’t say definitively whether blue moon marbits do indeed give Lucky the power of invisibility, but their arrival—in 1995—caused the yellow moon marbits to disappear.

16. GREEN HATS

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In 1996, a light green hat emblazoned with a dark green clover replaced the plain old green clover (one of the brand’s original four marbits). The green clover was gone, but it wasn’t forgotten; it made a comeback in 2004.

17. – 22. OLYMPIC MARSHMALLOWS

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In conjunction with the 1996 Summer Games, Lucky Charms launched an Olympic Edition of the cereal, which featured six new marbits: red, white and blue stars; a gold medallion with a yellow star in the center; a red, white, and blue rainbow; and a yellow and green torch.

23. – 26. TWISTED MARBITS

In 1997, four classic shapes—moons, balloons, horseshoes, and hearts—got dual color makeovers.

27. PINK HOT AIR BALLOONS

Pink hot air balloons also made their first appearance in 1997.

28. SHOOTING STARS.

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After more than 30 years of dutiful deliciousness, another Lucky Charms original—the orange star—was retired in 1998. It was replaced by a fancier orange shooting star, which is easy to distinguish because of the white trail it leaves behind. Double shooting stars made a brief appearance in 2005.

29. – 36. TRIP AROUND THE WORLD MARBITS

In 1998, Lucky Charms took a Trip Around the World with a special edition box that paid tribute to some of the world’s great landmarks with eight new shapes: Gold Pyramids, Blue Eiffel Towers, Orange Golden Gate Bridges, Purple Liberty Bells, Green and Yellow Torches, Pink and White Leaning Towers of Pisa, Red and White Big Ben Clocks, and Green and White Alps.

37. – 44. RUDOLPH AND FRIENDS.

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In 1999, another limited-edition box—Winter Lucky Charms—introduced eight new marbits to the world: Red and White Candy Canes; Blue Icicles; Purple Ice Skates; Green Trees; Brown and Red Rudolphs; Yellow Stockings; White and Gray Snowmen; and Orange Mittens.

45. MAN IN THE MOON

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In 1999, General Mills introduced a limited edition Man in the Moon marbit.

46. RACECARS

Marshmallow racecars zoomed onto the breakfast table in 1999.

47. SPARKLING RAINBOWS

Multi-colored sugar was the shimmery element in the Sparkling Rainbows cereal that was sold between 1999 and 2000.

48. – 54. WINTER LUCKY CHARMS

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In 2001, the cold weather brought seven more new holiday-themed marbits: Christmas trees; snowmen; ornaments; candy canes; wreaths; presents; and stockings.

55. CRYSTAL BALLS

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Between 2001 and 2006, two different versions of a Crystal Ball marbit were introduced. In both cases, adding milk to the bowl revealed something about the future. In 2001, it was the whereabouts of Lucky’s hideout. In 2006, just ask your cereal a question and it would answer: ?, Y, or N.

56. – 57. MAGICAL STARS AND HIDDEN KEYS

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The Crystal Ball trick worked with Magical Stars, too: add milk to your bowl of cereal and a star would appear in the middle of the orange moon marbits. The same technique was used again in 2003 and 2005 for special Hidden Key marbits.

58. CHOCOLATE CHARMS

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It took more than 40 years, but Lucky Charms changed its cereal recipe for the first time in 2005, when it introduced Chocolate Lucky Charms.

59. BERRY CHARMS

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Chocolate Lucky Charms proved so popular that the company tweaked the recipe yet again in 2006 when it introduced Berry Lucky Charms.

60. – 63. SPOOKY MARBITS

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Lucky Charms took a turn toward the macabre in 2006 when a Halloween-themed edition unveiled four new marbits: Brown Bats; Blue Ghosts; Green and Pink Cauldrons; and Yellow Spell Books.

64. YELLOW HOURGLASSES

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In June 2008, a Yellow Hourglass—which helps Lucky control time—became General Mills’ first new permanent marbit to be added to the lineup in more than a decade.

65. 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION

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Attention Target shoppers: In honor of Lucky Charms’ 50th anniversary, you can currently purchase a retro-inspired limited edition box, which is full of green clovers. We have it on good authority (if you consider mentalfloss.com Editor-in-Chief Jason English good authority) that “even the milk turns green. Like magic.”