People mindblown after finding out where iconic 'I Love NY' sign comes from

In pretty much every place you visit across the world, you can find a patriotic souvenir shop selling merch emblazoned with three simple words.

Whether you're in London, Paris, Tokyo or Berlin, you'll be able to find a mug, keyring, T-shirt or magnet sporting the words 'I love...', followed by the location.

But do you know that there is a very interesting story behind how this simple slogan ended up taking gift shops across the globe by storm?

Don't worry if not - as loads of social media users didn't either, so they've been left pretty mindblown after finding out the origin of this simple sentence.

It all started in New York, nearly five decades ago.

Although we all know it as a buzzing metropolis, it wasn't always this way - and during the 1970s, the US city hit a serious slump in tourism.

In a bid to combat this, the Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Commerce, William S Doyle, turned to advertising agency Wells Rich Greene for some assistance.

He wanted the firm to develop a marketing campaign to encourage people to visit New York, and he also recruited the late graphic designer Milton Glaser to work on the project too.

The original sketch was created on a bit of scrap paper with a red crayon and it now hangs in the MoMA (Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Glaser agreed to do the job pro bono, as he himself was concerned for the future of his beloved city if things continued the way they were.

"The place itself had become so difficult to live in," he told the Guardian in 2014. "I wanted to say 'I'm gonna stay, I love this place, I'm not gonna be defeated, I'm going to make it better'."

So, armed with this powerful message, Glaser got to work on a design.

And in the back of a taxi in 1976, with only a red crayon and a bit of scrap paper as his tools, the artist came up with a simple sketch which would go on to have a huge impact.

He sketched out the letter 'I' followed by a love heart and the letters 'NY' in reference to the Big Apple - taking inspiration from initials carved into tree trunks by lovers.

This original drawing now adorns the walls of Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), showing just how significant it is.

As we all know, the graphic designer's creation went on to gain recognition against the globe following its incredible success in its birthplace of New York.

The logo was described as one of the most frequently imitated in history, which came as quite a shock to Glaser.

Milton Glaser didn't earn a penny from his masterpiece (Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

"I’m flabbergasted by what happened to this little, simple nothing of an idea," he told the Village Voice in 2011. "It just demonstrates that every once in a while you do something that can have enormous consequences.

"It was a bunch of little scratches on a piece of paper!"

Glaser also revealed why he did the work for free, despite the state going on to make millions in licensing fees off the back of his artwork.

He explained: "The truth is, I have enough money to live the life I want to live. I don’t think about how it would be if I had another couple million. I have no needs that are not being fulfilled.

"I am just astonished by the amount of money it’s brought in. I went to Chinatown a few months ago, and it had been transformed to a gazillion 'I Love New York' T-shirts on every building and facade. It amazes me."

Bizarrely, Glaser said that after he reworked the design to read 'I Love New York More Than Ever' following the devastating September 11 attacks in 2001, the 'state threatened to sue' him.

"They said I was infringing on the copyright," the artist added. "You realise when you’re dealing with any bureaucracy, that they’re so indifferent to anyone but themselves."

The graphic designer reimagined the slogan following 9/11, but said he faced threats of a lawsuit from New York itself (Viviane Moos/Corbis via Getty Images)

This absolute geezer sadly passed away at the age of 91 in June 2020 after suffering from a stroke, his wife Shirley told the New York Times.

Still, his logo will live on forever - as will his legacy as a true New Yorker.

Although half of them probably own a replica of Glaser's original artwork, social media users were left stunned by the extraordinary story behind it.

One said: "That's so cute, I love that it's still a symbol for the city."

Another wrote: "It's crazy because I can't imagine NYC without it."

While a third commented: "Proof that LOVE is the answer. Something so simple, telling us to LOVE NY with the powerful symbol. So simple, but so powerful that it made a difference."