Central banks are better known for managing inflation by controlling the money supply than for their sense of humor. That's apparently not the case with the Bank of Canada, though, which used a 1980s video game easter egg to help unveil a new banknote this week.
The bank created a website to show off the new 10 Canadian dollar note, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the act of consolidation that created the modern version of America's northern neighbor. As CTV News pointed out, there's a hidden easter egg that visitors to the site can activate to start playing the Canadian national anthem and see confetti fall.
The activation code is a series of ten keystrokes identical to a cheat present in many video games from the Japanese studio Konami. When a player spotted the Konami logo on a game's loading screen, entering the code would unlock a set of bonuses for a number of the company's earlier titles, including Contra for the original Nintendo Entertainment System.
"The Bank of Canada's web team thought the Konami code was a fun way to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation," a spokeswoman told CTV. To try it out for yourself, visit the commemorative website and enter the following keystrokes: ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right on the cursor keys), then "B" and "A."
Related
- Google Pixel Chromebook Gets Konami Code TreatmentGoogle Pixel Chromebook Gets Konami Code Treatment
The Konami code has appeared in Easter eggs countless times since its debut on Nintendo games, entering internet lore as a way for software engineers to pay homage to the geeks who have come before them. Google included the code on its Pixel Chromebook, which would prompt the notebook to perform a light show with the strip of LED lights on the top of the device.
The Konami code has also been used for more nefarious—but still humorous—purposes: when the Anonymous hacking group breached several US court system websites in 2013, it left behind an overlay of an Asteroids game that would appear when the code was activated.
One of the biggest points of contention between music streaming giant Spotify and the record labels that provide it with songs is the service's free tier. Regar...
It more than doubled the five-year survival rate of people with glioblastoma in a clinical trial.
The Code Kit is for children in grades three through eight.
Android Wear 2.0 adds standalone apps and a new user interface. Both are really good things.
Relax Konami Code Helps Debut New Canadian Banknote stories
It's a 12-sided coin packed full of features to make it very difficult to counterfeit.
Spend zGold to earn zSilver, which can be redeemed for discounts on Razer gear. At least at the outset, though, the redemption rates aren't particularly rewarding.
Farm gold in World of Warcraft to buy loot boxes in Overwatch.
NASA astronauts will chat with executives from Amazon and Hollywood about the future of science and entertainment.
Google pushes back on a Department of Labor report, and says it 'conducts rigorous, annual analyses' to make sure it adheres to equal pay practices.
Qualcomm fired back at Apple with allegations that Cupertino 'chose not to utilize the full performance' of its modem chips in the iPhone 7, and more.
There's not many video game series popular enough to warrant their own controller design, but Dragon Quest is certainly one of them.
Popular disc-playing software can now take you to the next level of video consumption, with 360-degree VR, Ultra HD Blu-ray, and updated HDR10.
A series of computer viruses targeting companies and organizations closely resembles the Vault 7 hacking tools that WikiLeaks disclosed.
The feature, available first on the Cadillac CT6, will allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel and let the car steer itself on the highway.
Ajit Pai proposed that the agency terminate a 2013 plan that sought to relax rules governing mobile communications on planes.
Shadow Brokers tried unsuccessfully to ransom its trove of surveillance tools, so it released them for free.
The AI software will compete against the best Chinese players of the game of Go in a tournament near Shanghai next month.
