Chicago's Lucky Charms handbag disappears after going viral

CHICAGO – There's a cereal puzzle on the northwest side of Chicago.

Some say a bag filled with lucky charms hanging from a metal pole is public art, while others say it's just someone's lost snack.

Either way, it goes viral on social media.

“It's just this beautiful, inexplicable thing that happened,” said Chicago writer and game developer Sam Greszes, who was riding a scooter down Addison Street last week when he spotted something strange hanging from a metal post in Lawndale.

In front of a closed exhaust shop stood a clear plastic bag stuffed full of Lucky Charms cereal.

“I just saw it and thought, that's funny. Cool. It made me smile. I took a picture of it and posted it,” Greszes said.

Within days, the post on X had been viewed over a million times, received 26,000 likes, and spawned a number of copycat memes.

“Suddenly, thousands of people seemed to like it,” Greszes said. “And I started thinking about it and wondering why, right?”

The cereal bag circulated online caught the attention of Block Club Chicago, which published an article about it, and when FOX 32 arrived Tuesday morning, people were calling the bag the “Miracle of Avondale.”

“People are drawn to stories,” Greszes said. “And I don't want to compare this to the Rat Hole. The Rat Hole is legendary, rest in peace.”

The imprint of a rat apparently burrowed into a Chicago sidewalk became such a phenomenon, attracting huge crowds earlier this year.

The city of Chicago had to cut it out and store it.

And as for the mysterious cereal…

“Honestly, it's a little ridiculous,” said neighbor Tyler Maltes as he walked past the purse. “I mean, it could be a performance art piece, I'm not 100 percent sure.”

Even though the cereal bag is not intended as public art, people are still fascinated by it, says Greszes.

“I have an opinion about what is art and what is not. Personally, I believe that if you call it art, then it is art,” said Greszes.

But the charm of the muesli didn't last long. At around 1 p.m. on Tuesday, someone either committed the art theft of the century or took the snack bag back.

The Lucky Charms wallet is missing.

“We must respect these things, these little things that can bring us a little absurd joy in our everyday lives,” Greszes said before his disappearance.

We may never know how they got here or what they mean. Only that they are magically delicious.