By Jessica A. Dennehy
The language learning platform Duolingo announced that their mascot, Duo the Owl, had passed away on February 11th, 2025. Born Duo Keyshauna Renee Lingo in the year 1000 BC, Duo had been the face of the company since its founding in 2011. He will be remembered for his snarky social media presence and vaguely threatening manner of reminding platform users to complete their daily language lessons, having been known to call in the occasional ballistic missile strike and more commonly to physically abuse those who failed to maintain their lesson streak. His memory lives on through his former squeeze, the Scrub Daddy mascot, their plethora of mini owl-shaped sponge babies, his unrequited lover, pop star Dua Lipa, and the widespread terror he instilled in the language-learning community.
On Tuesday, February 11th, the platform released a statement on social media announcing Duo’s death, breaking the news by saying that, “Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death, and we are cooperating fully. To be honest, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know?” At that time, the cause of his death remained undetermined, with the company respectfully asking that speculation—and celebration—be put on hold until more was known of Duo’s untimely end. “We know he had many enemies, but we kindly ask that you refrain from sharing why you hate him in the comments,” with Duolingo instead encouraging people to share their credit card information so the company could sign them up for its premium subscription service. “In his memory,” of course.
The TikTok announcing Duo’s death quickly garnered comments from various corporate accounts, including Hilton, Kleenex UK, Hallmark, Pop-Tarts, Utz Snacks, and Meow Mix. Others, like Chipotle, Netflix, and Xbox, reacted to the news on Twitter. Even Duo’s long-time, unrequited love interest, Dua Lipa, acknowledged the tragedy, tweeting, “Til’ death duo part.” During this period of mass mourning, condolences poured in from prominent institutions such as the European Space Agency and the World Health Organization, which assisted in the investigation by ruling out smallpox as the cause of death, stating, “The disease has been eradicated since 1980.” Social media users also grieved the loss of an icon, with many expressing shock and sadness—some even requesting the company restore their lost daily streaks in his honor.
As the investigation unfolded, major breakthroughs were made, some of which were announced via social media. Later on the 11th, Duolingo cryptically tweeted about a promising lead: “We are investigating Jimmy.” By Wednesday, officials had identified Duo’s cause of death, sharing a graphic video revealing that Duo was killed in a hit-and-run accident from a speeding Tesla Cybertruck in a parking lot. The collision launched Duo seemingly into the literal heavens, with the post offering a reward to anyone who could identify the driver.
In the wake of the tragedy, Duolingo updated its app store and social media profiles to mourn their beloved mascot, modifying his avatar to have crossed-out eyes and a lolling tongue. The platform also updated the statuses of its other characters to properly honor Duo. One TikTok featured Duolingo characters Lily and Zari solemnly carrying Duo’s coffin to the truck bed, sprinkling it with rose petals.
To commemorate his legacy, the company announced the sale of Duo plushies in coffin-shaped boxes, noting, “All Duo plushie purchases come with a free, limited-edition memorial coffin box, while supplies last.” In lieu of flowers, Duolingo urged people to complete their daily lesson in memory of Duo the owl, concluding with the statement, “We appreciate you respecting Dua Lipa’s privacy at this time.”
NOTE: Since the time this article was written, Duo has been resurrected. Not even death can stop him from ensuring your Spanish lessons have been completed.