Rubber duck
A rubber duck, or rubber ducky, is a toy shaped like a duck that is made of rubber or rubber-like material such as vinyl plastic. Rubber ducks are generally yellow. Almost all modern rubber ducks are made out of vinyl plastic rather than rubber.
Most commonly, rubber ducks are designed to be used as floating bathtub toys, but not all rubber ducks are bath toys. Some rubber ducks are dolls or play figures similar to other squeeze or squeak toys typically given to children and sometimes dogs. Rubber ducks can be found in various colors, sizes, shapes, and outfits. Rubber ducks have achieved status as a popular icon and, while still primarily considered a children's toy, are used by people of all ages.
Rubber ducks may be equipped with a squeaker that makes a whistling or squeaking sound. More rarely, the toy may have a squeaker that makes a sound resembling the quack of a real duck. Bath toy ducks sometimes have a hole in the bill that allows the toy to take in and then squirt water.
History
The origin of the rubber duck is not known, but its history is inevitably linked to the emergence of rubber manufacturing in the late 1800s. The earliest rubber ducks were made from harder rubber and lacked squeakers. The yellow rubber duck has achieved an iconic status in American pop culture and is often symbolically linked to bathing or bath tubs and bubbles and to babies and toddlers.
Jim Henson popularized rubber ducks in 1970, performing "Rubber Duckie" as Ernie, a popular Muppet from Sesame Street. The song had two follow-ups, "Do de Rubber Duck" and "DUCKIE," and Ernie frequently spoke to his duck and carried it with him in other segments of the show. The song "Rubber Duckie" and many of the characters of the show were done by Jim Henson.
As the rubber duck has grown in popularity over the years, many variants are sold, including "devil ducks," "dead ducks," and "bride and groom" ducks.
In 2001, The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper reported that Queen Elizabeth II has a rubber duck in her bathroom that wears an inflatable crown. The duck was spotted by a workman who was repainting her bathroom.[1] The story prompted sales of rubber ducks in the United Kingdom to increase by 80% for a short period.
Rubber ducks are collected by a small number of enthusiasts in countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, United States, and the Netherlands. The 2007 Guinness World Record for World's Largest Rubber Duck Collection numbered 2,583 unique rubber ducks was awarded to Charlotte Lee of Duckplanet.com.
The rubber duck can be referred to informally as a "rubber duckie" or a "rubber ducky." Amongst collectors of rubber ducks, the spelling "rubber duckie" has achieved prominence, but both spellings are considered acceptable.
Races
There are numerous races of rubber duck, and are not easily distinguished to the inexperienced observer. There are countless species, but the rubber duck family can easily be divided into three main categories: the Northern Drake, the Eastern Billed, and the Southern Mallard. The main differences between these species lie in their physical appearance; the Northern Drake recognized by an elongated neck, and tapered beak, the Eastern Billed by a prominent flat bill, and the Southern Mallard by a ruffled frill around the neck. However, such differences are minuscule, and the family as a whole tends to be classified as one species. In the more temperate regions of the globe, the Eastern Billed has been revered not only as a mystical figure of the animal kingdom, but in lesser cases, as a minor deity by several major religions. Human culture has not been so kind to the Southern Mallard, which has been hunted almost to the brink of extinction by poachers who believe that the Mallard's frill contains a potent aphrodisiac. Several animal rights groups have sprung up around the globe, championing the Mallard's position of animal, rather than commodity.
Oceanography
During a Pacific storm on January 10 1992, three 40-foot containers holding 30,000 Friendly Floatees plastic bath toys from a Chinese factory were washed off a ship.[2] Two-thirds of the ducks floated south and landed three months later on the shores of Indonesia, Australia, and South America. The remaining 10,000 ducks headed north to Alaska and then completed a full circle back near Japan, caught up in the North Pacific Gyre current as the so called Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Many of the ducks then entered the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia and were trapped in the Arctic ice. They moved through the ice at a rate of one mile per day, and in 2000 they were sighted in the North Atlantic. The movement of the ducks had been monitored by American oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer. Anyone who finds a duck can claim a $100 reward from First Years Inc[citation needed]..
References
- ^ Queen goes quackers at bath time
- ^ Curtis C. Ebbesmeyer and W. James Ingraham Jr. (1994-10). "Pacific Toy Spill Fuels Ocean Current Pathways Research". Earth in Space. 7 (2): 7–9, 14. Retrieved 15 November.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
CBS (7-31-03). "Rubber Duckies Map The World". CBS. Retrieved 2008-07-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |day= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
External links
- Thousands of Rubber Ducks travel the oceans for years
- Photos of a rubber duck derby
- Duckplanet.com: A popular website about rubber ducks and rubber duck collecting
- Duck Travels: A rubber duck that has been travelling around the world for several years
- Rubber Duck World: An online rubber duck retailer