A yellow rubber duck.

Some variations on the standard rubber duck. Clockwise from left: a miniature rubber duck, a purple devil rubber duck, a rubber duck dressed as a reindeer for Christmas, a rubber duck in sunglasses, and a black "dead" rubber duck that floats upside down. The Devil is the Sunglasses or sun glasses are a visual aid variously termed Spectacles or Glasses, which feature lenses that are coloured or darkened to prevent strong

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. This article is about playthings For other uses of the term see Toy (disambiguation. For duck as a food see Duck (food; for other meanings see Duck (disambiguation. A vinyl compound is any Organic compound that contains a vinyl group (also called ethenyl) &minus C[[Hydrogen H]] =CH sub>2 Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products Rubber ducks are generally yellow. Almost all modern rubber ducks are made out of vinyl plastic rather than rubber. A vinyl compound is any Organic compound that contains a vinyl group (also called ethenyl) &minus C[[Hydrogen H]] =CH sub>2 Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products

Most commonly, rubber ducks are designed to be used as floating bathtub toys, but not all rubber ducks are bath toys. A bath (bɑθ bathtub ( AmE) or Tub ( informal) is a Plumbing fixture used for Bathing. Some rubber ducks are dolls or play figures similar to other squeeze or squeak toys typically given to children and sometimes dogs. A doll is an object that represents a baby or other human being but includes likenesses of animals and imaginary creatures The dog ( Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated Subspecies of the gray wolf, a Mammal of the Canidae family of the order 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. For duck as a food see Duck (food; for other meanings see Duck (disambiguation. Bath toy ducks sometimes have a hole in the bill that allows the toy to take in and then squirt water, emulating the actions of real ducks.

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. Popular culture (or pop culture) is the Culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance —

Jim Henson popularized rubber ducks in 1970, performing "Rubber Duckie" as Ernie, a popular Muppet from Sesame Street. For other uses of "Henson" see Henson. James Maury "Jim" Henson (September 24 1936 &ndash May 16 1990 was one of For the toy see Rubber duck. " Rubber Duckie " is a song sung by the character Ernie (voiced by Jim Henson Since 1969 Ernie has been one of the stars of PBS 's long-running children's television show Sesame Street. The Muppets are a group of Puppet characters created by Jim Henson. Sesame Street is an American educational Children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard combining 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. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Sun is a Tabloid daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the highest circulation of any daily English-language The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II A crown is the traditional Symbolic form of Headgear worn by a Monarch or by a Deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power 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. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Singapore New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands 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. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records (and in previous U 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

Some charities have run rubber duck races in which hundreds or thousands of rubber ducks are dumped into a river, pool, or other body of water and then floated down a race course marked off with buoys. The first one to float past the finish line is the winner (similar to the game Poohsticks). Poohsticks is a game first mentioned as being played by Winnie-the-Pooh and friends in the book The House at Pooh Corner by A The rubber ducks are then retrieved and used again later. Due to environmental concerns, sites for duck races must be chosen with care.

There are hundreds of races held in the USA and internationally. The largest race in the United States benefits the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati, Ohio; over 100,000 ducks are raced to raise money for the organization.

One of the more famous rubber duck races is the Great Knoxville Rubber Duck Race[1]. This race received attention when the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that it was a lottery, which stopped the race for a few years. The Tennessee Supreme Court is the highest Appellate court of the State of Tennessee. After the state amended its constitution to allow lotteries with special exceptions, the race was reinstituted. In 2006, the River Liffey in Dublin hosted the world's largest duck race, with 150,000 ducks. The Liffey ( An Life in Irish) is a River in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland.

One other race was conducted in Australia in January 1988. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. It was run from the "High-level bridge" to the "Low-level bridge" near Katherine, New Territories on the Australia Day long weekend. Acting on behalf of the town's Bicentennial Committee, Royal Australian Air Force officers Andrew Cairns and Jock MacGowan constructed the release cage from PVC pipe, purchased and numbered the ducks, printed tickets, and even arranged a helicopter flypast for the auspicious occasion. The Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF) is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force.

Rubber ducks are used in small quantities as herding targets for radio controlled model yachts, the objective being to move all of the loose ducks into a floating pen.

Oceanography

Main article: Friendly Floatees

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. Friendly Floatees are Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Friendly Floatees are ^[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. A gyre is any manner of swirling Vortex. It is often used to describe large-scale Wind or Ocean currents. Many of the ducks then entered the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia and were trapped in the Arctic ice. The Bering Strait (Берингов пролив Beringov proliv) is a sea Strait between Cape Dezhnev, Russia, the easternmost point (169°43' Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Arctic is the Region around the Earth 's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. 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. Oceanography (from the greek words Ωκεανός meaning Ocean and γράφω meaning to write also called oceanology or Curtis Charles Ebbesmeyer is an American Oceanographer who in retirement has studied the movement of flotsam. Anyone who finds a duck can claim a $100 reward from First Years Inc.

References

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