Duo the Owl died as he lived: unhinged

For those who (somehow) had the demise of Duo the Owl on their 2025 bingo sheet, go ahead and check it off. Duolingo announced the death of its mascot yesterday across its social media platforms. 

As almost everybody expected, Duolingo seems to be taking this grave news as seriously as an unhinged company would. In another humorous post regarding Duo’s death, the company revealed his full name (crediting author Alex Elle)—Duo Keyshauna Renee Lingo—and his age (3,025 years old), having been born in 1000 B.C.

In its initial Instagram post announcing Duo’s death, the company asked for its followers' credit card numbers “so we can automatically sign you up for Duolingo Max in his memory.”

Under this obituary post, Duolingo said that “authorities are looking into a Canadian rapper.” This comes after the company’s post during the Super Bowl LIX game on Sunday dissing Drake, a Canadian rapper referenced throughout Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show.

This morning, however, the company revealed its mascot’s cause of death: A Tesla Cybertruck. Truly, a tragic, unhinged way to go. 

But there might be some clues.

In the days leading up to his final moments, Duo the Owl made his usual jabs at current trends and controversies. And ironically, even in death, he spent his last dying breaths poking fun at the notoriously controversial Tesla, whose CEO is running about The White House as President Donald Trump’s most trusted adviser (no need to name names when Duolingo practically does it already).

In life and in death, Duo the Owl was not just a mascot for Duolingo, but a metaphorical mascot for Gen Z, appealing to their humour and hijinks. In the most respectful way possible, Duo died as he lived: incredibly unhinged.