Microsoft Threatens To Bring Back Clippy, But Not In The Way You Think

Microsoft has suggested that it will bring back the much-maligned "office assistant" (aka Clippy the paperclip) from the old days of Microsoft Office, but Clippy won't do much talking this time. In a tweet, Microsoft said that it would replace the paperclip emoji in Microsoft 365 with Clippy if the tweet got more than 20,000 likes. Currently, the tweet is sitting at nearly 150,000 likes.

If you aren't familiar with Clippy, you aren't alone--the talkative paper clip was removed from Microsoft Office back in 2007. The googly-eyed mascot who just wanted to explain Microsoft Office to you was considered annoying by many users, and many Flash animations featuring the violent demise of Clippy were early hits on Flash portals like Newgrounds.

This isn't the first time that Microsoft has flirted with Clippy nostalgia. The software giant recently released some old-school themed backgrounds for Microsoft Teams, one of which featured a stylized Clippy. If you're a Microsoft 365 user, keep an eye out for that new paperclip emoji--but don't be surprised if he starts talking to you.