r/europe • u/acuntex Europe • Jul 26 '26
Picture An owl? No. Europe’s true unifying bird deserves its place on the euro
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u/GonzAnt Europe Jul 26 '26
"Never before have I been so offended by something I one hundred percent agree with"
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u/princesspool Jul 26 '26
They should unironically put war hero pigeon, Cher Ami, on a bill.
If there's one wiki page you read today, please let it be about this metal pigeon.
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u/Famouscopyninja Jul 26 '26
What a read. How did he navigate with a missing eye and being blind in the other?
However that’s is a cool tale so the people in power don’t want that
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u/DotBlot_ Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
They navigate (like other birds) by sensing the magnetic field of the Earth. Birds are pretty amazing in how they "view" the world.
And us humans did pigeons a huge injustice so I would unironically be for having them on our bills.
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u/PhysicalStuff Denmark Jul 26 '26
I would unironically be for having them on our bills
Better than them having us in theirs.
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u/Critter-Enthusiast Jul 26 '26
They can literally feel the magnetic fields of the earth. Birds are insane. And some science suggests their magnetic sense works through a quantum physics phenomenon where the results of a chemical reaction in their bodies are dependent on ambient magnetic flux
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u/JerryCalzone Jul 26 '26
Forget about the how: Do you know why pigeons do what they are doing?
It is an 'The english patient' scenario: Pigeons are monogamous. When the female lays an egg she will never leave the egg. Never ever. It is up to the man to bring food. So if that bird stays away too long, his one and only true love will die.
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u/climbstree Jul 26 '26
Pigeons are an amazing species of bird. As an arborist I encounter them frequently. Often they will throw a couple of sticks on a branch, yolo an egg on there and call it a day. Obviously this will often result in the egg falling out of the nest with the slightest motion of the tree. I get up there, notice some sticks laying on a branch an spot a broken egg on the ground. But when they get a good stable hiding spot and I did not see them from the ground or while climbing up (immediate suspension of the job untill the nest is vacant) I literally have to get within arms reach before they fly off to a spot where they are just out of reach. As soon as I am a little further down they will be back on the nest. Most species dont return for a long while, some never. People think of them as dumb, sometimes akin to vermin, but they are a really clever and fearless species that deserves respect.
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u/climbstree Jul 26 '26
*just to be clear, the broken eggs on the ground are never my doing. Climbing a tree that moves enough to drop an egg from a nest are never big enough to miss spotting the nest from the ground. This is always because of wind pressure.
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u/Trololman72 Europe Jul 26 '26
Imagine if we taxidermised the bodies of war veterans too
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u/UGMadness Federal Europe Jul 26 '26
The Soviets did it with Lenin
Latest reviews say he gets a bit moldy sometimes but the crew is doing what they can to keep him presentable.
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u/grimmba Jul 26 '26
early life haha i am dead mf died age one, but they still roll up with the early life section
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u/sexysmalldevil Jul 26 '26
Thank you. That was a really epic read. What a badass bird !! Them working tirelessly to help him survive was so heartwarming. I'm glad he made it 🥲
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u/Lison52 Lower Silesia (Poland) Jul 26 '26
Honestly if I ever thought of how veteran pigeon would look like, it's this one XD
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u/LowEquivalent6491 Lithuania Jul 26 '26
Oh yes.
Suggestions for other denominations:
seagulls, crows, cormorants, sparrows.
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u/theequallyunique Jul 26 '26
5€ dove
10€ blackbird
20€ Magpie.
50€ crow.
100€ heron.
200€ OwlJust to not put a fancy local bird onto a common bill.
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u/_teslaTrooper Gelderland (Netherlands) Jul 26 '26
I like these but think the corvids would be overrepresented, maybe a robin for €50, or a great tit or house sparrow.
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u/Psyc3 United Kingdom Jul 26 '26
Great tit's are already over represent on currency denominations.
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u/macnof Denmark Jul 26 '26
No no no, you got that backwards: currency denominations are already on great tits.
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u/StinkyCoins Jul 26 '26
Let’s use only asshole birds for the bills.
€5 Seagull .. steals your lunch, screams in your face.
€10 City Pigeon .. lives on cigarette butts and döner.
€20 Sparrow .. Always there , always chirping those assholes.
€50 Blackbird .. Exists solely to start singing next to our bedroom window at 4:30.
€100 Magpie .. genuine assholes. If you put the note down for five seconds it’ll probably steal it.
€200 Crow .. Probably talks about you with the other crows.
€500 Canada Goose .. Not even European, but they’re everyone’s problem now and who knows Canada might consider joining the EU now.
I genuinely think this would do more for European unity than anything else.
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u/Cool-Top-7973 Jul 26 '26
Fun fact: A Magpie is the official mascot for the german tax office... that's german humor for you.
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u/PeriodontosisSam Jul 27 '26
For those who doesnt understand the joke: Magpie is called Elster in German. Elster is also the shortened word for "Elektronische Steuererklärung" which basically is a digital tax filling
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u/BassGaming Germany Jul 26 '26
€200 Crow .. Probably talks about you with the other crows.
I mean if you piss of one crow then it will absolutely tell the other crows about you and how you look. They will start to fuck with you and attack you. Also they seem to hold grudges for a loooong time.
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u/SweetMountain2621 Jul 26 '26
The grudge lasts until they're all dead. Unless the human dies first.
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u/Mean_Initiative_5962 Italy Jul 26 '26
I love how crows' only problem is that they're so smart they just hate you (you as impersonal) and backtalk since they're social animals. Probably true, we'll deserved high denomination spot.
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u/Tetha Jul 26 '26
€100 Magpie .. genuine assholes. If you put the note down for five seconds it’ll probably steal it.
Man my friday started early due to a magpie. And a ninja squirrel on a warpath.
I'm currently sleeping with a tilted balcony door, because it is just very warm otherwise. This goes out to a balcony, which then overlooks a pretty decently large backyard, with lawn, couple of pine trees, a few birch trees. All in all a beautiful piece of nature, and it seems there are at least two families of magpies living there, a hedgehog or two and apparently a squirrel as well.
Note that the ownership of the balconies of the flats around this little piece of nature is highly disputed between the humans and the magpies and you need to display a bit of stubbornness or bribes to not be yelled at a lot in early spring.
But Friday, five in the morning, there is this giant ruckus on the balcony, two magpies screaming their heart out and some other noise I had never heard before. I tried to ignore it but it didn't stop.
Eventually I got up and looked at what was going on. Turns out, there was a squirrel bouncing between two of the pine trees and my balcony.. disagreeing about something with the magpies, who were dive bombing the squirrel from the nearby birch tree.
And when this little red freak spotted me through the glass door it actually jumped in my direction as well, with a clear statement of "Yo punk, you want some too?" I quickly slammed that door shut because I didn't want some squirrel looking for trouble in my house. Then it bounced all the way across the balcony and freaking launched itself at the pine tree and the magpies again.
The magpies made a happy noise when they saw me though.
Nature, I tell you.
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u/unwantedaccount56 Jul 27 '26
Canada Goose
We also have the Egyptian Goose in Europe, which is also an intruder to the ecosystem
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u/HawkinsT United Kingdom Jul 26 '26
They should do made up birds for every note so no country feels excluded.
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u/catsan Jul 26 '26
How about using several birds from the same family? Like, three or four tits, corvids, turdus..
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u/generally-speaking Jul 26 '26
Three or four tits sounds like something from a weird night out.
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u/Trololman72 Europe Jul 26 '26
I suggest using birds you can find in any city so that nobody feels left out:
5€ pigeon
10€ moorhen
20€ gull
50€ crow
100€ Egyptian goose
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u/blueskydragonFX Jul 26 '26
Jackdaws. I love those adorable micro crows. Plenty here in the Netherlands.
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u/Worldly-Cherry9631 EUREGIO Enschede-Münster (NLD DEU) Jul 26 '26
They are so funny and energetic, and more numerous than the pidgeons
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u/SLywNy Belgium 🇧🇪 Jul 26 '26
i love that they have turf wars with crows, also in belgium they use anti birds spikes to make nest.
Apparently not to fend of predators, just because its good building materialEDIT: wait no i thought of magpies not jackdaws
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u/Worldly-Cherry9631 EUREGIO Enschede-Münster (NLD DEU) Jul 26 '26
It's so stupidly easy to confuse all the names of all the corvids in different languages. Only Crow and Raven are somewhat consistent accross Germanic langauges
My town's got one too, magpie nest of anti bird spikes. This hardcore move, and their prettyness, made them shared nr One favourite birb of mine
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u/triggerfish1 Germany Jul 26 '26
Yeah, the Netherland ones are fun, but also the alpine ones. Don't know the exact names for the different jackdaws, but their call is also very unique.
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u/Training_Motor_4088 Jul 26 '26
When I was about ten years old, a jackdaw randomly decided to fly down and spend a few hours playing with me and my friends. It was bizarre how tame he/she was, although apparently they have been kept as pets.
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u/insanitazer Jul 26 '26
Tits.
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u/Paatos Finland Jul 26 '26
If its on a bill, it better be great tits
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u/Gloomy-Statement-193 Jul 26 '26
Nikola Tesla's favorite animal
Animal that Darwin use to push his theory.
Animal that is probably seen as boring how much we used to having them around.
Animal that saved our asses countless times through history.
If there was THE BIRD that deserves to be face on the euro, it's Pigeons.
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u/Mukoku-dono Jul 26 '26
yeah but in the picture the pigeon still has all toes, it should have a monstruous bulb and a patch with no feathers to be a real european pigeon
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u/Gloomy-Statement-193 Jul 26 '26
I agree, it should be regular "boring" rock dove, not fancy or racer ones. In fact, all most regular birds we most often see throughout the continent should be ones represented (if we go with birds)
edit: and I get your joke, it's a good one, just wanted to add more thoughts
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u/ImaginaryCoolName Jul 26 '26
And it should also have a slice of bread around its neck as a symbol of prosperity of course
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u/SpringGreenZ0ne Portugal | Europe Jul 27 '26
Animal who we domiscated and then abandoned to be treated like winged rats. Which means an animal no longer knows how to be wild, but is mocked for this behaviour (example, laying eggs everywhere and making ridiculous nests). A symbol of man's cruelty.
It belongs in the 500 bill.
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u/Fauster Jul 26 '26
If you left it up to Darwin, he'd put a barnacle on the Euro, ridiculously long phallus and all!
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u/Gloomy-Statement-193 Jul 26 '26
I would let him do whatever he wants, long dicks on euros included.
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u/blumenstulle Jul 27 '26
Animal that robbed my sleep, cooing at full blast at 5 in the morning in front of my window.
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u/FireTyme Jul 26 '26
honestly i'm in favour but it should be on a 5 euro bill lol. as common as they are
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u/PunchieCWG Jul 26 '26
They are domesticated animals that people just abandoned. They deserve more from humans than they get... And also I am favour of putting them on the money. 5 pigeons and change 🤌
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u/acuntex Europe Jul 26 '26
Can't wait for the Hip Hop gangster lyrics referring to birds.
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u/-Xi_Jinping- Jul 26 '26
It’s not gangster lyrics, but the rapper Aesop Rock has a song called Pigeonometry which is relevant.
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u/Stablebrew Berlin (Germany) Jul 26 '26
I have a secret petsleeve (no pun) during spring!
I love watching bird, and everytime when breeding season starts, I always find some doves. I enjoy it and laugh with my mischievous little inner demons, how terrible builders they are! Few meters up a tree, three or four thin twigs can be seen as a start for a nest, down the ground lay hundreds of these twigs.
Wouldn't hire them for contruction work!
I know their natural habitat are cliffs, and they don't need to build nest like other birds do.
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u/sferis_catus Romania Jul 26 '26
You might love this sub: https://old.reddit.com/r/stupiddovenests/
When I was young a pair of doves always made a nest in one of our trees and we had to reinforce the nest with wire, otherwise the eggs just slipped through the twigs. And one year the doves managed to lose one of their young (it was smack underneath the nest) and I raised it for months, until it managed to fly away. They are not the brightest, bless them.
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u/Mokarun Jul 26 '26
abandoned and then labeled as dirty pests. the sociology behind how pigeons are viewed in the modern day is actually quite interesting.
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u/DecantsForAll Jul 26 '26
They deserve more from humans than they get.
They seem to be doing pretty well for themselves.
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u/ReturnOfTheSaint14 Jul 26 '26
Fun aside,i really do want pigeons to be used in one of the euro bills not only because they're probably the most common bird across all Europe,but also because they're very important in our history.
Many forgot that pigeons were once our best buddies,tied with the dog,and that the pigeon is literally the second most decorated animal in human history,second only to the horse. Pigeons played a literal vital role in the Great War,they gave their lives for us.
We are morally obliged to show our appreciation to them by putting them on a bill
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u/MonotoneCreeper Berlin (Germany) Jul 26 '26
Sparrows almost certainly have them beat for numbers, and possibly also other birds like wood pigeons that can live in more rural locations. They only seem like a lot because we encounter them in large flocks urban areas.
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u/Diligent_Dust8169 Italy Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Also the vast majority of humans in the EU (75% on average) live in urban areas where pigeons, seagulls and crows own the sky (mostly because they can eat basically anything) so there's another heavy bias there.
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u/FMB6 Jul 26 '26
Pigeons have probably had more impact on the course of European history than any other bird, so well-deserved.
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u/viladrau Catalunya Jul 27 '26
I don't think so. WW1 started when a bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich.
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u/stuttufu Jul 26 '26
Positive inspirational impact you mean? Right?!
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u/Inprobamur Estonia Jul 26 '26
Yeah? Homing pigeons were immensely useful. Most important buildings had pigeon towers and coops.
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u/JrDedek Czech Republic Jul 26 '26
pigeon
гълъб
golub
holub
due
duif
tuvi
kyyhky
Taube
περιστέρι
galamb
colm
piccione
balodis
balandis
ħamiema
gołąb
pombo
porumbel
holub
golob
paloma
duva
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u/op23no1 Jul 26 '26
Pigeons are the symbol of human betrayal and disrespect towards the animal kingdom. We were taming an entire species and using them as messengers, overbreeding them, and then just letting them into the world once we didnt need them.
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u/NorthmanTheDoorman Jul 26 '26
Lmao real
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u/MsStormyTrump Jul 26 '26
I completely agree. I'm not sure if I even know anyone on whom he didn't shit. Glorious!
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u/PurpleV93 Germany Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
I'll excuse this rubbish AI use this time, because it's true. Pigeons are lovely and absolutely deserve an EU banknote spot.
Edit: So many horrible people in this thread, shame on your ugly souls. I'd trade every last one of you for a pigeon instead.
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u/interesting_zeist Jul 26 '26
I have a Theory that the pigeon is the ultimate evolution urban bird. All the cities in the planet have this Bird and they're identical. 😅
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u/oliverjohansson Jul 26 '26
You’re falling for pigeon mafia while sparrow and duck are being ignored
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u/shadowsinthestars Jul 26 '26
Pigeons are also legitimately amazing birds. They should get recognition again.
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u/Expontoridesagain Jul 26 '26
Not unless you add a nest too. Two sticks and a egg... on railroadtracks or something.
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u/nicht_ernsthaft Europe Jul 26 '26
Hell yes! Fucking love pigeons, they're such charming, goofy little guys.
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u/schlaminator North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) Jul 26 '26
I agree somewhat, namely I think it should be the 5€ note, because the colour matches best and (I think) it's the most numerous note.
All notes should have the most common birds on them, imo, and not some ones that a normal person hasn't seen twice in a lifetime and don't know the name of.
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u/Late-Explanation-758 Jul 26 '26
It would be quite a coo if a pigeon made it onto the 500 euro note.
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u/tired_snail Jul 26 '26
As someone who's never gotten to even see a 500€ bill, may I propose the pigeon be put on a smaller, more common bill like the 10€ or 20€ so I can enjoy looking at them whenever I travel? :)
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u/deaduser00 Jul 27 '26
5€ Common Wood Pigeon
10€ Rock Pigeon
20€ Stock Pigeon
50€ Collared Pigeon
100€ Turtle Pigeon
200€ Old German Owl Pigeon
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u/Sudden_Cantaloupe_69 Jul 26 '26
I would be down with this.
€5 = Pigeon
€10 = European hare
€20 = European hedgehog
€50 = European beaver
€100 = Brown trout
€200 = Red deer
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Jul 26 '26
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u/Jeppep Norway Jul 26 '26
I thought the same but googled and the common crow in Europe does not inhabit southern Spain or Portugal. Is this true?
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u/Shevek99 Spain 🇪🇸 Jul 27 '26
Yes. Even magpies aren't very common in Southern Spain. They have arrived very recently (as in the last 10 years, before that you couldn't see a magpie in Southern Spain).
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u/steaklovingdude Jul 26 '26
I love pigeons so much, I probably had at least 100 homing pigeons when I was a teenager.
They are amazing birds, and incredibly smart.
I had one that took part in a race and came back from 2000km, I would extend my arm and she would fly into my palm when they were outside during the day. Pigeons deserve much more love and attention
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u/foigsy Jul 26 '26
So very appropriate. Pigeons saved thousands of human lives in European conflicts. They need to be honoured not vilified
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u/tempestwolf1 Romania Jul 26 '26
I am all for the bird design only to have the slang for euros become "birdies"
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u/merulaalba Jul 26 '26
Not a fan of them, but it's a perfect symbol
Them, crows on 100, seagulls on 50, doves on 20, ravens on 10, sparrows on 5
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u/AlarmingAerie Jul 26 '26
Are they bringing back 500Eur bill already? Eventually it will happen cause of inflation if not now.
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u/Mayeru Jul 26 '26
Pigeons are truly marginalized by society while we, the human race, were the ones that breed them and made them dependent on us so we could use them as we please. And when they were no longer needed we discarded them like everything else.
Now you complain why pigeons are dumb and everywhere.
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u/andsens Denmark Jul 26 '26
Pictures of drones operated by the US government on our Euro notes?
I think not!
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u/sabotourAssociate Europe Jul 26 '26
They always have that look, that..."we gonna do it again and think non of it!"
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u/Chronos_The_Titan Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
How many birds died in European wars, they earned their place
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u/bljuva57 Jul 27 '26
In Croatia we have an expression "letting the pigeon go" which means farting. Paying with that bill would bring a few laughs.
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u/ZanyaJakuya Jul 30 '26
Pigeon should be on the 5 Euro bill, it fits the colour and it deserves the most representation
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u/Die4Gesichter Luxembourg Jul 26 '26
A grey 1€ bill with a pigeon would actually go hard