The Hilarious Way Canadians Are Honoring Leonard Nimoy

Friday marked an upsetting day for all the fans of Star Trek and Leonard Nimoy as the actor passed away at age 83. But, in memory of the man who inspired so many, the internet came together speaking kind words and sharing a Vulcan salute to commemorate his life. His long-time friend and co-star William Shatner shared fond memories, and other celebrities thanked Nimoy for the lasting effect he had on them. And among many other fan tributes, Canadians came together in the funniest way to honor Leonard Nimoy by ‘Spocking’ their $5 bills. Take a look:

The former prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier can pass as a pretty convincing Spock with just a little bit of ink, so The Canadian Design Resource (CDR) tweeted out to their followers to do the same, and commemorate the actor in lasting way. But, apparently this alteration is nothing new to Canadians, who have been ‘Spocking fives’ for quite some time now. According to The Huffington Post, Canadians have enjoyed turning their former prime minister into pop icons for years, specifically, Laurier can easily be altered into Mister Spock or Severus Snape.

When the design of the bill changed though, in 2013, it became a bit more difficult to ink due to the plastic that it is now made with. But, that didn’t stop fans, and although Laurier doesn’t resemble Spock nearly as much in the newer version of the $5 bills, fans were still able to alter the image beautifully.

The Canadian bills are an easy target due to the resemblance between the former prime minister and Leonard Nimoy, but it calls into question the legality of the situation. A publisher at The Canadian Design Resource, Todd Falkowsky explained to Quartz that this practice is harmless:

People have always played with money this way… love notes, return to sender, birthday greetings and remixing the images. I am not sure if it makes them harder to use but I’ve tried one in a parking garage and it worked no problem.

But, when Bank of Canada was asked about the situation, a spokesperson told Quartz that while it is not illegal to write or make markings on bank notes, there are plenty of important reasons why it should not be done including the interference of security features and a reduced lifespan of the bill. The spokesperson also added that the bank feels “writing and markings on bank notes are inappropriate as they are a symbol of our country and source of national pride”. While I understand the former reasons, the latter seems a bit ridiculous. Commemorating a man who has been much more than a pop icon to so many seems anything but inappropriate.