Live long and prosperous: Canadians pay tribute to Spock with $5 bill

From the Vulcan salute by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station to the pancake artist who created a batter likeness of Mr. Spock, the tributes to the late Leonard Nimoy have been touching and creative.

Canadians have gone as far as putting Mr. Spock on the $5 bill though the Bank of Canada is not that thrilled.

The Canadian Design Resource tweeted a request after hearing of Nimoy’s passing on Friday. They asked Canadian’s to “Spock their $5 bills to honor of the iconic Star Trek science officer played on television and in movies by Nimoy.

The design group suggested the $5 bill because the banknote’s color is similar to the blue uniform worn by Spock. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canada’s seventh prime minister and current $5 bill honoree may not look like a Vulcan, but as the group showed off in its tweet, a little black pen to create bangs, severe eyebrows and, of course, those attractive pointy ears transforms Sir Wilfrid.

Add a Star Fleet insignia and your favorite quote – “Live Long and Prosper” fits nicely in the field just to the right of the portrait – and Spock lives!

“Spocking Fives” even has its own Facebook page where Canadians are encouraged to post their revision of Sir Wilfrid’s face.

A Bank of Canada spokeswoman on Monday released a statement saying “mutilation or defacement of bank notes” is not illegal, however heavily marking the bills reduces the lifespan and could interfere with the security feature in the paper.

David Pierini

David Pierini is a former newspaper writer and long-time photographer. Considered a luddite by most of his friends, they did not believe him when he broke the news that he would be writing for a technology website. He is fascinated by human nature and would love to cultivate stories about the people driving the tech bus. Reach out to him at [email protected].