In 1908 a mysterious rotund figure appeared to Missouri art teacher, Florence Pretz, in a dream. She drew the character and named it the Billiken, “the god of things as they ought to be”. To buy a Billiken was said to give the purchaser luck, but to receive one as a gift would be better luck.
1911 the Billiken became the official mascot of the secretive Royal Order of Jesters, an elite Shriner group dedicated to the celebration of mirth.
1912 the Billiken became the unofficial mascot of Osaka. Throughout Japan representations of the Billiken were enshrined.
1921 the Billiken became the official mascot of St. Louis University.
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