Teletubbies just announced their own cryptocurrency in a hilariously weird April Fools Day joke. This is unusual for a show that is meant for children. Teletubbies features four alien-like creatures named Tink Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po who are known for their unusual appearance. Each character has a television screen on their stomach, a colorful body, and an antenna-shaped head. They behave like children who speak gibberish while wandering about an open grassy plane. It is a popular kid show that has been near-universally praised by critics and families alike for the past 24 years.
Yesterday, the official Teletubbies Twitter account shared an unusual image that sparked a lot of conversation. In the image were Tinky Winky and Po staring at the camera with red star signs in their eyes. In between them was a glowing question mark. The tweet teased an ominous announcement that read, "Eh-Oh...what could the Teletubbies be possibly hiding from us? Stay tuned for something BIG this week." Following this statement was a hashtag with the word "bitcoin," a popular cryptocurrency. This got people wondering if Teletubbies were going to get involved with the emerging new technology.
Now in a new tweet shared by the same Teletubbies account, the show revealed that they will be creating their own cryptocurrency called TubbyCoin. The account took one step further by saying that the cryptocurrency was "Made with special HugTech from WildBrain Labs." The tweet features two images. In the first image is a picture of a golden TubbyCoin with all of the Teletubbies featured on it. The second image is a picture of the Teletubbies in front of a stock market graph with an arrow pointing upwards.
Now of course this is an April Fools Day joke. Wildbrain is actually the name of the studio that produces Teletubbies. The Wildbrain website describes TubbyCoin as "a new virtual system that employs cutting-edge cryptographology to convey the inherent value of Big Hugs!" In other words, none of this real, but it makes for a funny joke. A lot of big companies have been jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon lately, so it seems like the creators behind Teletubbies might be poking fun at the new trend.
TubbyCoin is also being used for good. Wildbrain is donating five thousand dollars to the Kids Help Phone charity organization. Every time someone tweets using the hashtag TubbyCoin, the company donates an extra dollar up to a total of ten grand. Kids Help Phone provides a safe space for kids to call a support line in case of a crisis. It is so great to see Teletubbies using their platform, albeit in a humorous way, to support the very children who watch their show.
Source: Teletubbies/Twitter