Fact checked by The Linux terminal is a powerful tool, but hidden beneath its utilitarian surface is a whimsical side — a legacy of humor and creativity left by those who designed it.
Today, I'm diving into three quirky and often forgotten commands: fortune, cowsay, and lolcat.
Together, these Linux commands remind us that even the most technical environments can have personality and fun.
The Fortune Command: Wisdom at Your Fingertips
Dating back to the early Unix days of the 1970s, the fortune command generates random quotes, jokes, or proverbs in your terminal.
It’s more than just a quirky tool — it was a way to show that computers weren’t just cold, calculating machines. They could have personality.
When you run fortune, you’re greeted with a snippet of humor or wisdom. For instance:
“Programming today is a race between software engineers trying to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the universe is winning.”
Commands like fortune served as reminders that technology wasn’t just about running code. It was about connecting with the human side of computing, injecting a little fun into the monotony of technical tasks.
However, in today’s GUI-dominated world, fortune has become a bit of a relic, largely forgotten by modern Linux users.
Have you ever used it? I mean, can you really call yourself a Linux master in 2025 if you haven't?
Cowsay: The Talking ASCII Cow
Fast forward to the late 1990s, and we meet cowsay, a command that takes text and presents it as a speech bubble from an ASCII-rendered cow.
Yes, a cow.
Quirky and utterly unnecessary, cowsay captures the playful spirit of early Linux users who weren’t afraid to embrace a bit of absurdity.
Using cowsay is simple: type your message, and the cow says it back. For instance:
cowsay "Hello, world!"The result? A cheerful cow delivering your message.
Pair it with fortune, and you have a talking cow spouting random proverbs.
It’s this ability to pipe commands together that truly made cowsay shine, offering users a unique way to bring humor and creativity to their terminal.
Lolcat: Rainbows on the Command Line
Enter lolcat, the most modern member of this trio.
Inspired by early 2010s meme culture, lolcat takes text and adds vibrant rainbow colors to it.
What could be more entertaining than turning boring terminal output into a kaleidoscope of color?
Here’s how it works:
echo "Linux is fun!" | lolcatSuddenly, your text comes alive in a burst of rainbow hues.
Pair it with fortune and cowsay, and you’ve got a rainbow-colored cow delivering random proverbs — a trifecta of terminal hilarity.
Bringing It All Together: The Ultimate Trio
The real magic of these commands is how they work together. With a single command, you can combine all three for a delightful terminal experience:
fortune | cowsay | lolcatWhat do you get? A talking rainbow cow delivering a random fortune.
It’s absurd, unnecessary, and entirely wonderful — a reminder that even in the most technical spaces, there’s room for fun and creativity.
A Forgotten Legacy of Playfulness
In the early days of Unix and Linux, the terminal was the heart of computing. Commands like fortune, cowsay, and lolcat brought humor and humanity to the command line, showing that even the most serious programmers and system admins could laugh at their work.
But in today’s world of graphical interfaces, these commands are rarely installed by default. Many users don’t even know they exist.
The good news? They’re still available in most repositories. A quick install is all it takes to bring them back to life:
sudo apt install fortune cowsay lolcatOnce installed, these commands are a gateway to a bygone era of computing, where creativity and technical prowess coexisted in harmony.
Wrapping Up: A Celebration of Linux’s Personality
Fortune, Cowsay, and Lolcat may be forgotten by many, but they’re a testament to the personality and culture of Linux users.
These commands remind us that technology isn’t just about efficiency — it’s also about expression, creativity, and having a bit of fun along the way.
So, whether you’re a seasoned sysadmin or a Linux newbie, give these commands a try.
Who wouldn’t want a rainbow-colored cow delivering a fortune every time they open their terminal?
