# Why do Orville and Wilbur always ask you to ask yourself “What would dodos do?”...



## Megia (Aug 5, 2020)

...when no one but dodos themselves know what they would do? 

Incidentally, the dodos just say “Good luck!” in the Japanese version in place of where they say “What would dodos do?”. Also, Wilbur doesn’t speak in code language in the Japanese version. Why did they make him so hard to understand in the English version?


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## Pyoopi (Aug 5, 2020)

I always answer them in my head and say.."You would panic and run" lol

Well also in the Japanese version, Orville and Wilbur have different names (I think it's just scientific names of the dodo bird, something like that don't quote me), where as we have them named after the Wright Brothers. So I'm guessing with Wilbur speaking in code, is to match that his personality in North America/Europe etc.


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## Megia (Aug 5, 2020)

Pyoopi said:


> I always answer them in my head and say.."You would panic and run" lol
> 
> Well also in the Japanese version, Orville and Wilbur have different names (I think it's just scientific names of the dodo bird, something like that don't quote me), where as we have them named after the Wright Brothers. So I'm guessing with Wilbur speaking in code, is to match that his personality in North America/Europe etc.


Yes, they are Mauri and Rodrey in the Japanese version. I was confused at first because I thought Orville was named ‘Molly’, and then later realised that his name was supposed to be ‘Mauri’, short for ‘Mauritius’.


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## Ginkgo (Aug 5, 2020)

They say that to refer to the fact that they're flightless little birds, and they're operating an airline LOL. So the answer to "What would dodos do (when they want to fly somewhere)" would be "Take a plane!" It's their marketing slogan I guess (not that you have any other airline to choose from anyway lol) I always thought that was very clever


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## The Pennifer (Aug 5, 2020)

I was also curious about Wilbur and Orville’s aviation related expressions so I posted this a while back on a thread:

Re: Wilbur’s expressions ‘fought the barn’
Watch out for bogeys and keep an eye on your six
Means:
Watch out for danger behind your back (like you might get jumped or something). Watch your back. Keep an extra set of eyes on the back of your head. Dude, be careful man. Watch your six.

The term bogie, also spelled bogey, refers to a false blip on a radar display. The term is also used to describe radar echoes that occur for unknown reasons, especially in the military, where such a signal might indicate hostile aircraft.

From James O’Donnell: This comes from the early barn-storming days of American Aviation. It refers to a pilot who crashed and burned. Thus he retired suddenly from aviation and, so to speak, bought the farm.

Anyway ... they’re a fun pair and Nintendo put a lot of research and meaning into seemingly insignificant things


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## cinch (Aug 5, 2020)

.


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## Megia (Aug 5, 2020)

The Pennifer said:


> I was also curious about Wilbur and Orville’s aviation related expressions so I posted this a while back on a thread:
> 
> Re: Wilbur’s expressions ‘fought the barn’
> Watch out for bogeys and keep an eye on your six
> ...



Thanks for the information! I can’t understand Wilbur because of all his military language. I still don’t get why he calls you ‘Bellbottom (random music genre)’ and himself ‘Stovetop (random object)’ though.


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## The Pennifer (Aug 5, 2020)

Megia said:


> Thanks for the information! I can’t understand Wilbur because of all his military language. I still don’t get why he calls you ‘Bellbottom (random music genre)’ and himself ‘Stovetop (random object)’ though.


Here’s something else I found:
Fun Fact: Wilbur’s dialogue may seem odd, but he’s actually speaking using the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, where each letter of the alphabet is assigned to a specific code word. Delta Oscar Delta Oscar translates to “Dodo”, where as November Oscar Whisker translates to “Now”. Though being a family friendly game, W for Whiskey was censored to Whisker.


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## Megia (Aug 5, 2020)

The Pennifer said:


> Here’s something else I found:
> Fun Fact: Wilbur’s dialogue may seem odd, but he’s actually speaking using the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, where each letter of the alphabet is assigned to a specific code word. Delta Oscar Delta Oscar translates to “Dodo”, where as November Oscar Whisker translates to “Now”. Though being a family friendly game, W for Whiskey was censored to Whisker.


Yeah, I already knew about that one.


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## wanderlust// (Aug 5, 2020)

they can’t fly so a dodo would take a plane if they needed to travel  that is, if dodos weren’t extinct and they could take planes


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## skarmoury (Aug 5, 2020)

cinch said:


> I never knew what they were referring to either, i always answered in my head, "go extinct?"


omg same ksdfs
there was a time i slept over with some friends and one of them got frustrated while playing so when the "what would dodos do?" prompt came up, my friend stood up on the couch and yelled "they'd GO EXTINCT, THAT'S WHAT DODOS DO!!!'


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## FRANS_PLAYER (Aug 5, 2020)

I'm always incredibly smug while I think "dodos died out."


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## ecstasy (Aug 5, 2020)

Because it's a cute catchphrase and that's the only reason why


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## Chris (Aug 5, 2020)

I'm one of those mean people who just think, _"nothing, because they're extinct." _


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## sleepydreepy (Aug 5, 2020)

Its suppose to be funny because dodos can't fly. So instead I guess instead they take an airplane lol


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## Megia (Aug 5, 2020)

skarmoury said:


> omg same ksdfs
> there was a time i slept over with some friends and one of them got frustrated while playing so when the "what would dodos do?" prompt came up, my friend stood up on the couch and yelled "they'd GO EXTINCT, THAT'S WHAT DODOS DO!!!'


A lot of people seem to think that way too! Such as the person who drew this comic I have saved on my phone:


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## TheSillyPuppy (Aug 5, 2020)

I always considered it to be a rhetorical question because they're extinct. XD


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## Skandranon (Aug 5, 2020)

they are secretly telling you they are gonna crash


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## marea (Aug 5, 2020)

I thought it was just a slogan they use to market themselves as experts or something.


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## QueenOpossum (Aug 5, 2020)

Megia said:


> Thanks for the information! I can’t understand Wilbur because of all his military language. I still don’t get why he calls you ‘Bellbottom (random music genre)’ and himself ‘Stovetop (random object)’ though.


Code names. When a security team is escorting someone, such as the president or other important person, they don't use names. So when they are communicating, hopefully an outsider wouldn't know who they were talking about, or where they are going. 

So over walkie talkie they can say something like "The red eagle is ready to fly, and the jaguar is going into the jungle". One person is flying, one person on the ground. A bad person won't know to attack the plane or the car.

Does that make sense?

A humorous example from Parks and Rec:


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## Corrie (Aug 5, 2020)

"What would the dodos do" 

I don't think we should be taking their advice, considering they're extinct.


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## JSS (Aug 5, 2020)

My guess is they were trying to be funny, and also add as much needless dialogue, excessive confirmation prompts and awkward option positioning to frustrate/bore players and discourage them from abusing the mystery island and travel features.

Have you noticed how Orville always tells you that you have a NMT in your inventory regardless of how many times you used one? Or that Wilbur has three full sets of lines of dialogue before he lets you explore an island? My condolences also if you want to travel/open your gate and accidentally pick the wrong option, then you have to start all over again. This is the same game that toned down Blathers and Resetti. They knew what they were doing...


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## Uffe (Aug 5, 2020)

I thought they just asked, "What would dodos do?" because it was do do do. I don't know.


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## Megia (Aug 6, 2020)

Uffe said:


> I thought they just asked, "What would dodos do?" because it was do do do. I don't know.


Would be better if it had been ‘what do dodos do?’ then.


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## John Wick (Aug 6, 2020)

I ignore them most of the time.
I can't understand the one that takes you to the islands, he's high on something.


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## Athros (Aug 6, 2020)

cinch said:


> I never knew what they were referring to either, i always answered in my head, "go extinct?"



Thiiiis. I do that all the time too hahaha.


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