Duolingo’s Duo Died? Learn Why the Owl Mascot Might Be Gone

This is weird. Duolingo, the language learning app, just announced that Duo, their iconic owl mascot, is. .. dead. Yeah, you read that right.

Their social media post was pretty blunt. “It is with heavy hearts that we inform you that Duo, formally known as The Duolingo Owl, is dead,” the post began. Whoa.

They even joked (we think? ) about why: “TBH, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know? ” Ouch. That hits close to home.

Wait, What? !

Of course, the internet went wild. Was this real? Some kind of bizarre marketing stunt? Turns out, it’s the latter. A Duolingo spokesperson confirmed it’s a new brand marketing campaign. Duo’s not *actually* gone. Just. .. symbolically deceased.

Remember when you thought the old Dos Equis guy really died? Same vibe.

Duo’s Wild Ride

This owl’s been everywhere. He even showed up at Berlin Fashion Week! That’s right, Berlin. Fashion. Week. It was only last month. Now he’s. .. this. Talk about a plot twist.

And this isn’t the first time Duolingo’s gotten quirky. Last year, they replaced their CEO on an earnings call with a purple-haired chatbot named Lily. Their CEO joked that Lily would eventually take his job so he could retire.

Dua Lipa’s Involved?

The whole thing ends with a request to “respect Dua Lipa’s privacy at this time. ” Huh?

Duolingo’s been obsessed with Dua Lipa on TikTok for ages. It’s a running gag. A bizarre, yet persistent, running gag.

What Killed Duo?

They didn’t say exactly how Duo “died. ” But the timing is. .. interesting. This is happening during a global bird flu outbreak. Coincidence? Maybe. But the internet is already speculating.

We’ll be waiting for the autopsy report. In the meantime, maybe do your Duolingo lesson. Just in case.