Folks Are Sharing Healthy Harold Memories To Eulogise The Noble Giraffe

Notice how the stars were a little more dim and the world felt a little colder tonight, like the joy was slowly draining from the universe? We’re living in a grim time now; namely, the post–Healthy Harold era. 

For reasons unknown, the government decided to break with decades of practice and refused to continue funding Life Education, the educational company for whom our favourite giraffe is the mascot.

Obviously, people are devastated. He was a very iconic part of Australian childhood, a shared school memory regardless of which school you went to (well, almost, it turns out a lot of schools didn’t get him at all). So people are expressing grief the only way we know how: posts.

YOU BASTARDS ARE DEFUNDING HEALTHY HAROLD I WILL END YOU

— Mat Kertesz (@matkertesz) May 30, 2017

I went to Catholic school so Healthy Harold wasn’t allowed to talk about sex or drugs, he just told us not to be racist

— pastel twink (@twinkbahn) May 30, 2017

some loose unit at my primary school defaced the healthy harold van by writing “fuck” pretty small in permanent marker. take that harold!!

— Kate Price (@KAAAAAATE) May 30, 2017

Axing the Healthy Harold program? All kids need to be led into a dark van by a giraffe & taught about stranger danger

— Hayley Richardson (@smeagols_twin) May 30, 2017

All these people saying that Happy Healthy Harold taught them about sex but all I remember him teaching me is what kidneys are

— Rohan’s almond (@RJSalmond) May 30, 2017

Once I saw the star field ceiling in the Healthy Harold van in year 4 I berated the staff every year after that to enable it (they refused)

— the result respecter (@rpy) May 30, 2017

For some, the association with our mate HH was a little bit more weird:

I don’t know what Healthy Harold was for the rest of u but in 90s Perth it was a van you were led into where a giraffe man talked about sex

— Kaitlyn Plyley (@kplyley) May 30, 2017

On our last visit with Healthy Harold in year 6 we were shown (at request) where the hand went into Harold and a girl burst into tears

— Bridie Jabour (@bkjabour) May 30, 2017

A kid in my class got suspended for punching the Healthy Harold puppet

— Joe McKenzie (@aJoeMcKenzie) May 30, 2017

I remember when Healthy Harold came to school in year 6 and the kid with anger issues broke the puppeteer’s hand.

— Stuart Fazakerley (@stuartfaz) May 30, 2017

In this troubling time, please spare a thought for those who didn’t get to experience him at all:

Did Queensland have Healthy Harold or an equivalent? I remember a dog being let loose at school once but he didn’t give us any advice.

— Peter Taggart (@petertaggart) May 30, 2017

RIP Harold, you will be remembered as fondly as a non-Muppet puppet can be.