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Duck's Quacks Really Do Echo

Posted by Hemos on from the what-about-nintendo's-duck-hunt dept.

troc writes "Finally that age-old myth of the duck's quack has been overturned. It has long been thought that the duck's quack did not produce an echo, so some boffins with spare time and a duck did some experiments. "

9 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. But... by Bluesman · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do they weigh the same as a witch?

    --
    If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
  2. Duck Dodgers by AtariAmarok · · Score: 3, Funny

    The original "no-echo" conclusions came about because the test subject was Daffy, and the location was space.

    In space, no one can hear you quack, let alone hear an echo.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
  3. Re:WHO thought this? by tzanger · · Score: 2, Funny

    What next - somebody trying to evaluate the efficacy of NaCl in trapping avians when applied to their aft flight surfaces?

    Don't be absurd -- everyone knows that you colour the edges of their beaks with a green marker to improve their sound.

  4. Next up by Hard_Code · · Score: 3, Funny

    Can swallows really carry coconuts?

    I can't wait until those hard-nosed Brits get down to cracking this serious mystery!

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    It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
  5. Two scientists and a duck... by Spudley · · Score: 4, Funny

    First scientist: "Say, Bob, I've got a bit of free time, so I'm going up the mountain with my duck. You wanna join me?"

    Is it just me, or does that sound like it came straight out of a Farside comic? :-D

    --
    (Spudley Strikes Again!)
  6. Re:To make it quack. by no+reason+to+be+here · · Score: 1, Funny

    amazing how your sig is now suddenly on topic.

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    my pet machine
  7. Re:WHO thought this? by iggymanz · · Score: 3, Funny

    What next - somebody trying to evaluate the efficacy of NaCl in trapping avians when applied to their aft flight surfaces?

    To test the efficacy of salting a bird's wings in order to trap it, I put a 25 lbs. bag of Morton Salt on the wings of a sparrow, a duck, and then a canary. The birds were in each case successfully trapped. Also, they were completely flattened. Interestingly, the muted quack the duck made did not echo.

  8. Duck Stories echo too? by G4from128k · · Score: 2, Funny

    RedWolves2 wrote: "This story "broke" in late July. I had a discussion about it here."

    I guess everything involving ducks will echo.

    --
    Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
  9. Here's how the duck had us fooled all this time... by Insightfill · · Score: 2, Funny
    You see, the duck has a sense of humor. He was actually only quacking once, then opening his mouth in time to the echo(s) - a "bill-sync", if you will, of his own echo.

    Of course, people saw this duck "quacking" twice in a canyon years ago and then failed to hear the echo, and thought it was magic or something.

    Sort of like the bird in the "Monty Python" Beethoven sketch with John Cleese, where the bird was just opening and closing his beak to taunt the poor Beethoven.

    Some of the smarter ducks had even mastered the "repeat and fade" trick that the goose never really figured out.