Duolingo announced the death of its iconic mascot, Duo the Owl, on Tuesday, leaving users both amused and mildly concerned. In a post on X, the company revealed that authorities were investigating the cause, joking that "he probably died waiting for you to complete your lesson."
Acknowledging Duo's many enemies, Duolingo took the chaos up a notch, cheekily asking users to refrain from sharing their hatred unless they included their credit card details to automatically sign up for Duolingo Max in his memory.
The post also made an unexpected reference to Dua Lipa, playing into the app's long-standing joke about Duo's obsession with the singer. To everyone's surprise, Dua Lipa herself responded, writing: "Til' death duo part."
The mystery surrounding Duo's demise didn't last long. On Wednesday, Duolingo posted a dramatic follow-up video showing Duo being struck by a Tesla Cybertruck before floating into the clouds. The company then offered a reward for identifying the driver, urging users to post any leads on Twitter.
While some mourned the loss of their passive-aggressive green owl, others speculated that this was just another brilliant marketing stunt from the language-learning giant. Regardless of the truth, one thing is clear, Duolingo knows how to keep people talking.
Whether Duo is truly gone or just waiting to haunt users into completing their lessons remains to be seen. But if this was a test in viral engagement, Duolingo just aced it.
