Remembering The Time 28,000 Rubber Duck Toys Spilled Into The Ocean
28,000 Rubber Ducks Accidentally Fell Into The Sea In 1992
The actual accident occurred in 1992, when a cargo ship that was traveling from China to Seattle encountered bad weather. One of the shipping containers that was lost and fell into the water was destined for First Years Inc., a toy company in the United States, and was home to 28,000 plastic ducks. The incident became famous when the ducks began appearing in various parts of the world and the toys quickly acquired the nickname “Friendly Floatees” thanks to their colorful and cute appearance.
They Travelled All Around The World
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- Rick Rickman/Liberal Freemason
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
Although the ducks fell into the sea in the North Pacific, they were able to travel vast distances all around the world. Some showed up in the Pacific region as you might expect, washing up on shores in Hawaii and other nearby locations. However, they were also able to reach places even further away. Making their way past Newfoundland and into the Atlantic Ocean, they were able to pass through arctic ice, where many became trapped, and eventually land in the United Kingdom some 15 years after they first entered the water.
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It Helped Oceanographers Get A Better Understanding Of Ocean Currents
While the story of the ducks became well known due to the bizarre nature of the events, they also played an important scientific role. Oceanographers have used their journeys around the world’s oceans to help plot the different currents and gyres that exist. By being able to track them precisely from their starting point, scientists were able to discover how big these ocean currents are and exactly how long they take to complete a circuit. This not only helps them understand exactly how the water flows around the planet but should also help them to predict how climate change will affect the oceans and marine life.
The Author Of The Book Had To Quit His Job And Travel For Months
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Author Donovan Hohn had no real intention of writing the book Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea when he first began researching the incident. However, his curiosity soon got the better of him when he realized he was becoming obsessed with the story and wanted to know exactly how it had happened. This meant quitting his full-time job and leaving his wife behind as he travelled around the world with various different groups on an assortment of boats as he set out to discover the story behind the floating ducks.
The Ducks Inspired Multiple Children's Books
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As might be expected, 28,000+ rubber ducks adrift at sea was good inspiration for a number of books aimed at children. In 2004 Ducky by Caldecott award winner Eve Bunting was published by Sandpiper, and the next year 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle was published by Harper Collins.
It Was The Basis For A Disney Movie
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Clearly there was some creative power to these rubber ducks, as even Disney wanted to get in on the action. Inspired by the travails of rubber ducks lost at sea, the Disney Channel and Disney Junior created Lucky Duck, a CGI film loosely based on the Friendly Floatees. It premiered back in June of 2014 but you can still watch the 40-minute film on Amazon.
The Ducks Have Become Highly Prized As Collector’s Items
The fact that many of the ducks were never recovered means that they have become collector’s items. Many of the toys either sunk into the water or became trapped in arctic ice, stopping them from reaching shores where they could be snapped up by anyone passing by. This prompted the American distributor of the toys to offer a $100 for each duck, while sellers have been known to fetch up to $1,000 when putting them on the open market.
It Happens More Often Than You Might Think
Shipping containers being lost overboard on huge transport boats is not unusual. In 2014, the World Shipping Council carried out a survey and found that at least 2,683 containers were lost at sea every year. However, they believe the actual figure may be much larger, with many of the missing containers not being reported to authorities. Toys are one of the most common items to be found washing up on shores, such as in 1997 when a shipment containing over a million Lego pieces was lost, as they are often made of plastic and are buoyant enough to float.
Dumping Plastic Ducks Into Water Can Also Be Pretty Fun
Not every story that sees thousands of plastic ducks being dumped into a body of water has to be negative. There are numerous events all around the planet that see people racing the little toys in rivers and lakes, often to try and raise money for charity. A good example is the annual Windy City Rubber Duck Derby in Chicago, which sees more than 50,000 ducks emptied into the river by a truck and prizes given to the owners of those who reach the finish line first. Fortunately, all of them are cleaned up afterwards to make sure they don’t pollute the natural environment.
All Kinds Of Things End Up In The Ocean
While toys are particularly common, plenty of other oddities have found their way into the seas around the world. There have been several reports of beachgoers suddenly coming across huge collections of Nike trainers, computer equipment, and even car tires. That doesn’t even take into account the weirder finds that people have made. These have included robotic hands and false teeth.
Plastic Causes A Huge Amount Of Problems In The Oceans
Plastic is one of the great pollutants in the Earth’s water. It takes an incredibly long time to break down, up to 450 years in some cases, which can cause problems for generations. Especially when you consider that up to 12 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean every year. Much of the material sinks to the bottom of the oceans where it can damage the environment and habitats of marine life. Meanwhile, fish and organisms can eat the plastic that remains on the surface.
Items Can Float In The Water For Over A Hundred Years
It is not unusual for items that are lost at sea to float on the Earth’s oceans for years. As mentioned earlier, the ducks still occasionally wash up on shores some 25 years after the accident and many other objects have remained in the water for several decades before finding their way to the shore. In 2014, a group of fishermen discovered a message in a bottle when they pulled it out of the sea along with their catch. When it was opened they found that the old beer bottle contained a postcard from 1913, meaning it had been in the ocean for some 101 years.
