Dua Lipa Has Priceless Reaction to Death of Duolingo's Owl Mascot

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Duolingo Announces Death of Owl Mascot

Way to break Dua Lipa's heart.

After language-learning app Duolingo jokingly killed off its mascot Duo after referencing the "One Kiss" singer in TikTok videos with the green owl for years, the “Hallucinate” singer weighed in with her thoughts about the loss.

In response to the company's Feb. 11 announcement on X, formerly Twitter, Dua wrote one day later, "Til' death duo part," adding a broken heart emoji.

But in the wake of Dua—who joined the likes of Joe Jonas in mourning the owl—sharing her heartbreak, Duolingo shared further details related to Duo’s untimely passing. In a TikTok video shared later Feb. 12, the group revealed the cause of his death: He was fatally hit by a Tesla Cybertruck.

"Reward for whoever can identify the driver," read the caption. "Please post any leads on TikTok. Thank you for your patience with us during these trying times. #RIPduo."

The company's original death announcement stated, "It is with heavy hearts that we inform you that Duo, formally known as the Duolingo Owl, is dead," the company had said in its satirical statement. "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."

Duolingo joked that they are aware the owl "had many enemies."

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The message continued, "But we kindly ask that you refrain from sharing why you hate him in the comments. If you feel inclined to share, please also include your credit card number so we can automatically sign you up for Duolingo Max in his memory. We appreciate you respecting Dua Lipa's privacy at this time."

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While Duolingo never officially collaborated with Dua, the company has released many videos referencing the Grammy winner—which it had described as Duo's "unrequited love interest"—on TikTok since 2021. The group even posted a clip of a person dressed as the mascot unveiling a Love Actually-like proposal to the "Break My Heart" singer.

"Hey Dua! It me, your boi Duo!" read signs held by a fellow participant of the gag. "I flew to NYC to shoot my shot just to say, you want me, I want you baby. BTW, love the green jumpsuit! I'm 100 percent taking it as a sign."

The message continued, ""Anyways...Dua...will you marry me?"

Read on for more surprising facts about animated characters...

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Hello Kitty Isn't a Cat

Many fans were left purrrrrfectly confused after this revelation.

“Hello Kitty is not a cat,” Jill Cook—an executive at Sanrio, the company behind the character—explained to Today July 18. “She’s actually a little girl born and raised in the suburbs of London. She has a mom and dad and a twin sister Mimmy who’s also her best friend. She enjoys baking cookies and making new friends.”

While the news may have surprised some, Cook wasn’t the first to share this insight. As a matter of fact, Christine R. Yano—a professor of anthropology who penned the book Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty's Trek Across the Pacific—had also previously confirmed that Hello Kitty isn’t a feline.

“Hello Kitty is not a cat,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2014. “She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it’s called Charmmy Kitty.”

Other fun facts about Hello Kitty? According to Sanrio, she is five apples tall, weighs three apples, was born on November 1 (making her a Scorpio) and dreams of being a pianist or poet.

Noam Galai/WireImage

Goofy Isn't a Dog

Gawrsh! Did you know this fact?

Bill Farmer, who's provided the voice of Goofy for decades, explained why the Disney character can talk while Mickey Mouse's pet Pluto can't.

Goofy is "not a dog, but he's a canine," the voice actor said on an August 2024 episode of Popcorn Podcast with Leigh Livingstone and Tim Iffland. "So it's kind of like a wolf is not a dog but it's a canine—same thing. Goofus canis, that's what he is. Or, he's a MOG—he's a man-dog."

However, Pluto, he added, is a "regular dog"—a blood hound as it turns out.

Squidward Isn't a Squid

You'll want to get to the (bikini) bottom of this discovery.

SpongeBob SquarePants' creator Stephen Hillenburg once revealed that Squidward Tentacles is actually an octopus—not a squid.

"This is Squidward the Octopus, SpongeBob's grumpy next-door neighboor," he shared in the 2005 Case Of The Sponge 'Bob' video resurfaced by BuzzFeed. "I like the octopus for this character because they have such a large, bulbous head, and Squidward thinks he's an intellectual so, of course, he's going to have a large, bulbous head."

But if you're wondering how Squidward can be an octopus when he has only six legs instead of eight, Hillenburg had an answer for that, too—noting "it was really just easier for animation to draw him" with fewer tentacles.

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Blue From Blue's Clues Was Originally an Orange Cat

Break out your handy dandy notebook and jot this one down.

"One of the things that nobody knows is that Blue was originally a cat," the show's co-creator Angela Santomero said in the 2006 special Behind the Clues: 10 Years With Blue resurfaced by Mental Floss. "First his name was Mr. Orange and then we're like, 'Uh, maybe Mr. Blue.'"

But according to the special, Nickelodeon was already working on a series about a cat—leading animators to toss out the original idea and redesign Blue as a dog.

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Doug Was Almost Named Brian

Now this really isn’t funnie, er, funny.

But as it turns out, Doug Funnie from the cartoon series Doug was almost named Brian. As for what led to the change?

"I just thought Brian was too fancy of a name," Doug creator Jim Jinkins told HuffPost TV in 2014, "So, I geared it down, and started calling him Doug. If you think about what that sounds like, it sounds incredibly average, and that’s what I was trying to do: express from that point of view.”

Boo From Monsters, Inc. Isn’t Her Full Name

This fact is so good it’s scary.

In Monsters, Inc.: An Augmented Reality Book, the name of Boo—the little girl who accidentally ends up in Monstropolis and befriends monsters Mike and Sulley—is revealed to be Mary Gibbs, according to BuzzFeed. And if the name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the real-life moniker of the actress who provided the voice of Boo.

Need more proof? In the movie, there’s actually a scene where Boo is sorting through some of her drawings and fans can spot the name “Mary” scribbled at the top of one of the pieces of paper.

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Minnie Mouse Has a Longer Moniker

Speaking of names, while Mickey Mouse’s girlfriend is often called Minnie Mouse, according to the BBC, it was revealed in 1942 that her full name is actually Minerva.

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