Thousands of Rubber Ducks to Finally End Journey

Bert de Jong writes "The Daily Mail reports that thousands of rubber ducks who have traveled the seas of the world since 1992 are about to end their journey. After escaping out of a container fallen off a Chinese freight ship in a storm, scientists have been followed them on their fifteen year trek. This has turned out to be an invaluable source of information for studying ocean currents. Now it seems inevitable though that they will finally land on the shores of South-West England. '[Oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer] correctly predicted what many thought was impossible - that thousands of them would end up washed into the Arctic ice near Alaska, and then move at a mile a day, frozen in the pack ice, around their very own North-West Passage to the Atlantic. It proved true years later and in 2003, the first Friendly Floatees were found, frozen and then thawed out, on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and Canada. So precious to science are they that the US firm that made them is offering a £50 bounty for finding one.'"

Comments

How can they identify one ducky from another?

[apathy maybe]

I think I've just come up with a new money making scheme!

1) Goto shop and purchase large amounts of rubber duckies
2) Emerse them in water and ice for a few years and so
3) Sell them to this company for 50 pounds each
4) Profit!

More seriously, maybe scientists should be getting more brightly coloured floating objects and chucking them in the sea at various points. What about red for Russia (two types, one for each coast), yellow for (no I won't go there...) and various other colours for other countries.

A great way to learn more about ocean currents.

But they would get into trouble with (some) environmentalists, maybe they need to just "accidentally" knock a few more crates overboard?

Welcome

[Anonymous Coward]

As a native of the South-West of England I for one welcome our new faded yellow Chinese rubber duck overlords.

Re:£50 bounty, for a duck?

[RuBLed]

22,000 rubber ducks = ~3 million US dollars

Who wants to go to an Artic Expedition, we're mining ducks....

Re:this will eventually turn into a pixar movie.

[ceeam]

That or Michael Moore documentary.

Re:this will eventually turn into a pixar movie.

[WIAKywbfatw]

That or Michael Moore documentary.

I think you mean a duckumentary...

(I thank you, I thank you. Don't forget to tip your waitresses, etc.)

As an inhabitant of South West England

[Flying pig]

I can't help thinking that they can't be any worse than our local District Council. The ducks are mostly going in the same direction, and not spending all their time in in-fighting. What's more, they've spent the last 15 years doing useful scientific research instead of allowing unrestricted development in towns and blocking anything that might cause a rich NIMBY from London to have to look at a house belonging to someone else.

Yes, replacing the Council with faded yellow Chinese rubber ducks might actually be an improvement.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:this will eventually turn into a pixar movie.

[Gryle]

Quack comedian.

Re:This is actually interesting...

[Shakrai]

Talk about giving everybody the worst possible guide of everyday British life...

That's ok, it's not like we American's don't have anything to be embarrassed about either ;)

Re:this will eventually turn into a pixar movie.

[khedron the jester]

*ducks*

So this is how it ends *sniff*

[Agilus]

You were a great band, Journey! Who could have known that you would be mobbed and killed by thousands of rubber ducks!?!? What did you do to deserve this fate?!?

Re:Moby Dick doesn't have an outhouse

[Anonymous Coward]

Q. Where do you think all the fish in the sea go to shit?

A. The water closet!

Re:£50 bounty, for a duck?

[Hanners1979]

Collect them all, and win a PlayStation 3!