Duolingo, the multilingual learning app that teaches users any language they wish to learn, shared some rather uh…solemn news today. Duo, the green owl and its mascot, has been pronounced “dead”.
The language app put out a message on its official X account, containing both the announcement and some rather tongue-in-cheek statements. “Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death and we are cooperating fully. Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson but what do we know”.
an important message from Duolingo pic.twitter.com/jTTT680yVs
— Duolingo (@duolingo) February 11, 2025
Now, we don’t believe we need to tell you but just to err on the side of caution, Duo’s “death” is clearly just a marketing gimmicking, or stunt if you will, by Duolingo, both to entice new users and bring back current users.
Duolingo also pokes fun at the fact that the app and mascot are huge fans of the singer Dua Lipa, so much so that they even ask people not to bother her. “We appreciate you respecting Dua Lipa’s privacy at this time”.
rip duo 😖 https://t.co/if0LovD06k pic.twitter.com/l8PkG21KqB
— ketnipz (@Ketnipz) February 11, 2025
https://t.co/m0K8pqgmsM pic.twitter.com/1KzNDUAnMW
— Halo (@Halo) February 11, 2025
Requiescat in pace, @duolingo … https://t.co/8nJvnojqhY pic.twitter.com/gC86ab1ZnD
— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) February 11, 2025
Oh and it goes without saying that Duo’s death hasn’t gone unnoticed. Several brands, companies, and developers have posted their “condolences”, in the only way the internet knows how: with humour.
(Source: Duolingo via X)
