Why are there four suits in a deck of cards?

Have you ever wondered why there are four suits in a deck of cards and what do they each represent? Well, the four suits in a deck of cards represent each of the four major pillars of the economy in the middle ages: hearts represented the Church, spades represented the military, clubs represented agriculture, and diamonds represented the merchant class. Now that tidbit may add some curiosity to your next card game!

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from …Randon Facts… on the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer website