Canadians 'Spocking' their currency in tribute to Leonard Nimoy
To honor the memory of iconic "Star Trek" actor Leonard Nimoy, some Canadians are drawing Spock on their $5 bills.
Since Friday, the world has been grieving the passing of Leonard Nimoy, with many touching tributes to the man best known for his role as Spock on "Star Trek" hitting the Internet over the weekend. Perhaps one of our favorites so far is happening in Canada, where Trekkies are "Spocking Fives" by putting images of Nimoy on the country's $5 bill.
Canada's $5 bill features a large image of Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and the note is a shade of blue that's incredibly close to that of the uniform worn by Spock in "Star Trek." On Friday, Canadian Design Resource, a site for Canadian designers, sent out a tweet urging Canadians to "Spock" their $5 bills by taking a pen and turning the portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier into a picture of Spock.
The idea of "Spocking Fives" isn't entirely new, and can be traced back to at least 2008 when the "Spock Your Fives" Facebook group was founded to encourage people to add the Vulcan's face to the $5 banknote. Canada switched from paper to plastic currency at the end of 2013, and the new material made it more difficult to "Spock" the $5 bill, but not impossible, as evidenced by this tweet from pedalpapa.
The practice isn't illegal, but the Bank of Canada noted in 2002 that it strongly objects to the mutilation or defacement of bank notes, an objection it reaffirmed to Quartz on Monday. "Writing on a bank note may interfere with the security features and reduces its lifespan," the Bank of Canada said. "Markings on a note may also prevent it from being accepted in a transaction."
Given how beloved Mr. Nimoy was, we can't help but hope this Spock-ified currency will take a note from the actor himself and live long and prosper.
(Via Mashable)