I think this is the best place for this question. Well, a guy at work asked me the other day why the King of Hearts commits suicide. I didn't know ( and actually thought he was telling a joke) and now i'm really curious. Why is the King of Hearts the only King that stabs himself in the head??

If a picture were to be taken of a man swiging a broadsword, at some angles, it would seem that the man has stabbed himself in the head. One possible reason is that, originally, he was swinging a battle-ax (I have no idea how Karrow got in the story ), and, since playing cards were once made using woodblocks, somewhere along the line, the axe became a sword, possibly from a bad copy. Note that the other red king has an axe. It is possible that, at one time, both red kings had axes, while both black kings had swords.

Excellent answer. I did notice that the King of Diamonds has an axe and not a sword, so it's quite possible that the original images were distorted. also, i found a website of useless facts that points the fact that the King of Hearts is the only one without a mustache.

"...the King of Hearts is the only one without a mustache."

This one is easy to answer. He has no mustache because he shaves regularly.

He has no moustache because he's a young woman in drag? (I read the da Vinci code , you know.)

Indeed, the King of Hearts is known as the "suicide king." However, the sword is behind his head, rather than through it.