At Duolingo, one of the best ways for us to improve the learning app is by actually using it every day! Doing our daily lesson allows us to better understand the learner’s experience and identify bugs, brush up on our language skills, and sure, get a little competitive with our streaks. The longest streak for a Duolingo employee right now is more than 3,000 days strong!
We know our learners have extended their streaks in some wild and funny places – like the club, music festivals, and even on their wedding day! We thought we’d share some of our best streak-extending stories to prove that we, also, are obsessed with our progress!
“I went to a Justin Bieber concert in Pittsburgh, and the lights and fanfare were not enough to distract me from my notification from Duo. Is it too late now to say sorry?” —Parker, Educational Content Developer
“I was out camping at Savan Durga near Bangalore and I realized at 11:30 p.m. that I would lose my streak if I did not get a unit in. I wasn't getting any signal at the campsite, and so I trekked uphill for 20 minutes (in the rain) to the hill top to catch a signal. I managed to save my streak with a couple of minutes to spare.” —Karan, Marketing Manager
“The weirdest place I’ve extended my streak? Probably… in the shower, holding my arms waaaay out so the water wouldn't hit my phone.” —Hope, Learning and Curriculum Manager
“During the nationwide Rogers internet outage in Canada on July 8, I went to a subway station and loitered around the turnstiles without paying so that I could use their free, non-Rogers (but slow) wifi to extend my 520-day streak while trying to avoid the transit officer that was on duty.” –Anonymous Duo, Software Engineer II
“I managed to extend my streak on a cruise ship when it was leaving shore, and my phone was just close enough to the coast to still have a signal!” –Anonymous Duo, Assessment Scientist
“While traveling in New Orleans for a conference, I extended my streak from the waiting room of the Tulane Medical Center emergency room. Everything is fine now! (And I kept my streak!)” —Tracee, Community Marketing Manager
But sometimes, even our most valiant efforts are all for naught:
“I was backpacking in Isle Royale NP with exactly 0 cell service, so went tent to tent trying to find somebody with a satellite phone, explaining to them my need to keep a Duolingo streak alive. After finding a very gracious gentleman who was willing to help, I spent way too long trying to figure out how to use the satellite phone as a hotspot so that I could use my phone to complete a lesson. Sadly, this didn’t work.” —Brett, Workforce Planning Manager