Lucky Charms to retire hourglass-shaped marshmallows

The sands of time are sinking for Lucky Charms' hourglass marshmallow, which will soon be officially retired from the popular cereal.

Lucky Charms announced the shape's retirement on its official social media accounts but did not say when it would be removed from the lineup. It's also not clear if another shape will replace it.

The hourglass began appearing in cereal bowls around the country in 2008. Each of the marshmallows - which are actually called marbits - represents a special power that, in theory, should help Lucky the Leprechaun escape the kids who are after his box of Lucky Charms. The kids, of course, almost always end up getting their fix after Lucky's plans go awry.

Among its companions, the hourglass was arguably the most enigmatic. Compared to the rainbow or the shooting star, the hourglass' odd shape was one of the harder ones to identify without knowing what it was.

Other retired marbits include green trees, blue diamonds, LGBT pride rainbows, whales, Olympic torches, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, candy canes and crystal balls.