Survivor Duck: 15 Years and 17,000 Miles Later
For 15 years there have been thousands of “Made in China” bathtime ducks floating halfway around the world’s oceans. Just recently the armada of yellow rubber friends started to arrive in Clyde, Scotland and are about to begin showing up in the Glasgow river.
The mass of yellow ducks, blue turtles, and green frogs broke free from a container in Pacific ocean due to bad weather 15 years ago.
The destination was supposed to be Tacoma, Washington but instead, they have traveled over 17,000 miles landing in Hawaii and have even been iced in the Arctic. Now they’re expected to be heading to South-West England.
The toys have greatly helped scientists in researching world ocean currents. You can easily recognize the toys with the faded white colors and a “The First Years Inc†stamp, which was who the toys were made for originally.
The company was offering £50 reward for each toy found but they are worth nearly £1,000 on the market.
(Sina)
By Mui Mui on 04-09-2007
Comment by Gwyn
September 4th, 2007 at 10:46 am
cute duckies ~~
Comment by Trish
September 4th, 2007 at 11:51 am
I guess tub toys are hardier than first thought. Maybe all scientific equipment should be made to ‘tub toy’ standards.
Comment by Heather
September 4th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Wow… That far…
Comment by Casual Adventurer
September 4th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
See, China can manufacture quality products that far exceed the requirements of their design paremeters…..
Comment by Matt
September 4th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
They’re probably filled with lead.
Hahaha
Comment by Scot
September 4th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Clyde, England? The Clyde is in Scotland you stupid American ####s. Just like in Mrs. Doubtfire when she says “England is an island…”. You have no idea how annoying that is.
Comment by wallace
September 4th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
longshanks in braveheart refers to england as an island aswel …
Comment by Jack
September 4th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Clyde, England?
The River Clyde is in the country of Scotland, as is the City of Glasgow, not England as you mention. Please check your geography in future before assuming you are correct.
Thanks
Comment by Someones-Ex-Gf.com
September 4th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
cute ducks!
Comment by Awwwpuppyawww.com
September 4th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
awww ducks awww
Comment by marc
September 4th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
I think it was supposed to be annoying. Mrs. Doubtfire wasn’t really from England. She was a man.
Comment by Zach
September 4th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
The only thing worse than a stupid American is a foreigner that assumes we are all as stupid as him.
Cute ducks.
Comment by NotAndEnglishGuy
September 5th, 2007 at 12:03 am
Cute story, but the river Clyde is in Scotland, not England…
Comment by itsaman
September 5th, 2007 at 12:05 am
SPOILER: Mrs. Doubtfire is a man!
Comment by theguy
September 5th, 2007 at 12:06 am
All this talk about dangerous chinese products (ie. lead paint in childrens toys) is bs. This is just an invisible trade barrier. We have an economic agreement with the Chinese that prevents us from putting direct tariffs on Chinese products (explicit trade barrier). China will not deflate the value of its currency which is causing too many cheap Chinese products to come to the US. Becuase of this, we place an invisible trade barrier (fake allegations of “dangerous” products) to give more buisness to American products. This hurts consumers because it raises the demand for American products, thus making them cost more. This is an inefficient system, and you should support Chinese imports.
Comment by otoy
September 5th, 2007 at 12:13 am
tub toy standard indeed
Comment by gene
September 5th, 2007 at 12:39 am
but we have a good idea how insecure you are!
Comment by Gregor
September 5th, 2007 at 12:59 am
Glasgow is in England as much as New York is in Canada.
Comment by Jane
September 5th, 2007 at 1:37 am
I wonder if the travelling ducks stay upright or topple over in the bath like my ducks do?
Jane in Australia
Comment by Dan
September 5th, 2007 at 1:37 am
I don’t support Chinese imports because I don’t support a government getting rich from the slave labor of it’s masses.
Comment by Alan Smithee
September 5th, 2007 at 4:37 am
Start complaining when Scotland is a sovereign nation…….
Comment by Alan Smithee
September 5th, 2007 at 4:41 am
From the info I gathered on this site, it appears that the writers are Asian – mostly Chinese it seems. Quite arrogant on your part, eh mate?
Comment by David Brown
September 5th, 2007 at 5:04 am
Whatever you say. . . are you from Canada by any chance?
I thought the whole of North America was Canadian?….
The writer made a mistake, saying the Clyde is in England. . . when in actual fact its in Scotland… If you’re going to refer to the United Kingdom as one country, refer to it as Britain, or even… get this, The United Kingdom……
Comment by Nate
September 5th, 2007 at 7:01 am
If England is not an island then why didn’t the Nazis in 1940 march that span that doesn’t make you and island and kick your buts?
Comment by natedog
September 5th, 2007 at 7:06 am
because its landlocked … duh
Comment by Greg
September 5th, 2007 at 7:11 am
England is just a part of The United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is the island.
And yes this story is incredible.
Comment by John
September 5th, 2007 at 7:33 am
Isn’t that Great Britain? UK also has Northern Ireland.
Comment by Ameh
September 5th, 2007 at 7:44 am
Who the duck cares?
It’s DUCKIES!
Comment by drew
September 5th, 2007 at 8:02 am
This is so sad. It’s an article talking about how these rubber ducks have been incredibly circling the globe for 15 years which is providing scientists with invaluable data and all anyone can comment on is the fact that clyde is in scotland. Who cares if they said clyde was in england and not scotland. It has absolutely no bearing on the story what so ever. Furthermore since scotland is still part of the UK the article is technically correct. It would be akin to someone calling puerto rico part of the south eastern U.S. even though it is technically a commonwealth. It would still be acurate as they are not a completely sovereign nation. You also have to remember that they are writing a news article that is expected to be read by millions of people. A lot more people on earth know where england is more than they know where scotland is (even though they are connected) so it makes much more sense to say they are showing up in south western england than scotland. Remember people they are trying to convey how far these things have traveled so scope is much more relevant then dead accuracy.
Comment by nooty
September 5th, 2007 at 8:13 am
“…relevant THAN dead accuracy”
Comment by Andrew
September 5th, 2007 at 8:19 am
“A lot more people on earth know where england is more than they know where scotland is (even though they are connected) so it makes much more sense to say they are showing up in south western england than scotland. Remember people they are trying to convey how far these things have traveled so scope is much more relevant then dead accuracy.”
More accurate, in that case would be to say “near england”
a
Comment by Josh
September 5th, 2007 at 8:51 am
He does say that the ducks are heading to Clyde,Scotland in the first paragraph: “Just recently the armada of yellow rubber friends started to arrive in Clyde, Scotland and are about to begin showing up in the Glasgow river.” And if my geography is correct, Scotland is North of England. He later says that the ducks are expected to start heading to South-west England. Does the Glasgow river flow South-west?
Comment by mojoe
September 5th, 2007 at 9:16 am
you hosers sure know how to complicate a simple little story about rubber ducks.
Comment by zach
September 5th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Christ, you people need to drop this.
Focus on the story, not the small mistake in geography. C’mon.
I think it’s fantastic that the toys survived, and are playing such a valuable role in helping scientists study ocean currents.
Comment by Derek
September 5th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
lawl, ftw! show that smug little ass who is boss. Saying that it is in england is like saying New York City is in ohio, sure its all part of a bigger country but it isn’t the same so technically you are wrong you know it all ass. I am attacking the first guy and commending the second to clear any confusion
Comment by Joker
September 5th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
That’s because in Australia everything is upside down.
Comment by Trish
September 5th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
“For 15 years there have been thousands of “Made in China†bathtime ducks floating halfway around the world’s oceans. Just recently the armada of yellow rubber friends started to arrive in Clyde, Scotland and are about to begin showing up in the Glasgow river.” -1st paragraph of the article.
It says Scotland! What in Hades name are you crabbing about?
Scientists are tracking the oceanic current that flows whatever way it wants, often south to north. Instead of crabbing about it here, LOOK IT UP!
Comment by Tiffany!
September 5th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
I love when fights break out in blog comments.
Comment by Ian the Anglelander
September 5th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Lets see… totally surrounded by water… Manmade tunnels don’t count… er… 1st grade Geography says: FOOKING ISLAND MATE
Comment by Arn
September 6th, 2007 at 6:02 am
Please scroll up and check again if stated Clyde, England?
Please read again twice before making opinion in public.
Peace!
Comment by Danny
September 6th, 2007 at 9:31 am
America ROCKS clyde sucks balls anyway no matter where it is…imma get a boat and pickup all these ducks and cash in….england is an island so stay on it b/c u all smell bad and have bad hygiene
Comment by Read closer
September 6th, 2007 at 11:57 am
In the first paragraph it says “started to arrive in Clyde, Scotland”.
in the Middle paragraph it says Heading to south-west England.
Read the whole story. And England IS an island.
Comment by drivelsadvocate
September 6th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
The news story was probably written by an american..click on the link below to see how good an average american’s geography is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww&mode=related&search=
Comment by lachiendupape
September 6th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
FFS, ok no matter where the Clyde is lets get a few things straight; The country of England is not an island, it is bordered on the north by Scotland and on the west by Wales, Great Britain is the island on which these three countries lie. The United Kingdom includes the top part of the neighbouring western Island, known as Northern Ireland, if you’d like to know more like the fact we are the second highest defensive spending country in the world, or that we don’t all smell and have bad hygeine (have you been on a new york subway)? then please follow this link;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_kingdom
Comment by Stef
September 6th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
ach.. England .. Scotland..
It’s all the same.. right..?
Comment by Jenn
September 6th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
C’mon people! Who uses Wikipedia? Do you know that Wikipedia is not 100% accurate? You can actually go on there and change things if enough people say the same thing is true. For example, if thousands of people contacted the good people of Wikipedia and told them that the sky is orange, the website would tell people the sky is orange. I’m serious!
Anywho, thank you to lachiendupape for giving an accurate geography lesson because England is not an island but it and the other countries of Great Britain DO make up an island. I suppose if you don’t care about being technical or learning basic things about the world you can call England an island, it’s really up to you.
I think it is great that those rubber ducks made it that far and survived all these years. It is a very helpful tool for scientists wanting to learn more about the ocean currents.
Comment by JP
September 6th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
God some englishmen are so damned anal, so afraid an American might not know a simple geaographical fact about their wondrous little piece of land!
Comment by Scot
September 7th, 2007 at 2:05 am
Yeah well if your country was constantly ignored you’d have some idea how I feel. Assuming you’re American, you won’t have to worry about that as your country’s foreign policy kinda means it’s in the news all the time.
Comment by Scot
September 7th, 2007 at 2:06 am
True I was wrong there.
Comment by Scot
September 7th, 2007 at 2:09 am
Ever heard of Scotland and Wales you ignorant twat? Or didn’t they teach you about that in “1st grade geography”. Why don’t you take a trip to the “islands” of Spain and Canada next time you fancy a break?
Comment by Scot
September 7th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Yes, thankfully they CHANGED IT AFTER READING MY COMMENT (thanks to the editor btw) so get your facts right. And England isn’t a ####ing island you idiot, Great Britain is an island of which England is a part TWAT.
Comment by Scot
September 7th, 2007 at 2:15 am
Idiot.
Comment by Scot
September 7th, 2007 at 2:15 am
(I meant Nate).
Comment by Scot
September 7th, 2007 at 2:20 am
Won’t…dignify..with..response. Damn.
Comment by Scot
September 7th, 2007 at 2:24 am
Die.
Comment by Scot
September 7th, 2007 at 2:27 am
Enough of the technical talk, forget I mentioned it.
Ducks!
Ducks Rule! ‘Specially yellow plastic ones.
I’m quite amazed they lasted so long, they should definetley make flight recorders out of Chinese plastic from now on. And make them duck-shaped so they float.
Comment by Bill
September 7th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
You foreigners sure know more about the Chinese government than Chinese don’t you? Let me tell you, most chinese (like me) actually LIKE the government, can you get that through your head? No? This is your normal propaganda is it? Your pointless tradewar will fail, the chinese people will prevail.
Comment by bill
September 8th, 2007 at 3:38 am
I am scheduled to take a canoe trip on the S.W. flowing Clyde river in that great island of England.Hopefully I can stay away from the unhygenic English people.
Awww ducks. Yellow too. How neat.
Comment by Matt
September 8th, 2007 at 5:20 am
Dear god you people suck. How did you let a story as sweet and cute, if slightly environmentally tragic, degrade into a back and forth about something so petty? Weak…seriously people, very sad…BAD! NO! Baaaaad!
Comment by Perez Hilton
September 8th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
shaddup “scot.” Only an arrogant limey would be so rude in a thread about something sweet like duckies. Go tap the Prince’s phone or something.
Comment by Diana Windsor
September 8th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Gee thanks Scot. I wanted to show this page to my little children, but your vulgar language took care of that!
Comment by fdggfd
September 9th, 2007 at 9:49 am
omg shut up fag dissing americans is weak sauce and wack, plz get a life
Comment by brian
September 9th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
I say bomb england or what ever they call that worthless island
Comment by Michael
September 9th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
If you check things up Jenn, you will discover that wikipedia holds as high correctness as encyclopedia brittanica. Yes, it does have flaws, but so does every encyclopedia that has ever been made. Wikipedia has avantages that makes it superior acctually. It is dynamic. Other encyclopedias can not change, correct itself, or grow. The reason you think wikipedia seems unsecure, seems to be that you never used and don’t understand how it works.
However, encyclopedias doesn’t seem to help people with either geographical or any other knowledge, even though there are paper encyclopedias in existence, wikipedia or not.
Comment by Michael
September 9th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
btw:
“I suppose if you don’t care about being technical or learning basic things about the world you can call England an island, it’s really up to you.”
Yes, I agree. If you don’t want to learn even basic things you can call England an island. Bush called Africa a country. He is free to do that. Some people refer to Europe as a country. It will still be wrong.
Comment by Robert
September 13th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
That’s it. I’m getting that company to make my next boat.
Comment by a fookin yank
September 15th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
yer all gay
england isnt an island, and america isnt a country
GB is an island and USA is a country
and yer momz are all hoors
and yer dadz are all wankers
Comment by eiwupv jtieyawpu
September 19th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
lazcrsgfe pthkovs bstfpci rjypawtm vxrjblzkq bqmerl tijwcko
Comment by redsky
September 22nd, 2007 at 2:19 am
Well, it just goes to prove a story about research being done in Hudson Bay, Canada…a high tech unit was launched in the early 1990s to track the flow currents (at the time) and subsequently disappeared, never to be heard from again.
Maybe they should have used rubber ducks to track the currents and listened to the people from the Hudson Bay communities?
Comment by Hoors
December 21st, 2007 at 11:56 am
England is not and never has been an island. Why? Because the original Celtic inhabitants of the island – the Brythons – were around long before the Anglo-Saxons (English) invaded the island around the year 500. That’s why. England is on an island – it is not an island.
LOL @ fookin yank… “hoors”.
Comment by nicole
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Drew’s point still stands. The article is about the distance the ducks have traveled, not the geography of the UK.
Comment by nicole
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Miss Teen USA is not an average American. American’s laugh at her epic idiocy.
Comment by nicole
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Actually, calling America a country is generally accepted as okay, as the USA is often simply referred to as America for simplcity’s sake since it’s much shorter and no one (no one from the US, anyway, refers to our country as “The USA” in conversation.
And besides, if you were talking about one of the American continents, you would says North America or South America, not just America.
Comment by Matty
August 24th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I’ll second Bill here,
All the Chinese I know here in China love China and like their government. Stop watching western news and come to China and experience what it is like first person. The news seems to be a government tool to turn westerners against China in this circumstance.
Comment by hot skool girl
April 24th, 2009 at 10:40 am
LEAD POISONING!!!!!!!
Comment by fat pervert
April 24th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Are u really a hot skool girl?if so would you do me?
Comment by Uncle B
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:10 pm
The rubber duckies sure did travel, Question: If the gulf stream slows will where Glasgow is matter, or will it all be ice? I fear changes in the gulf stream invoked by the huge amounts of CO2 and heat from America carried with it, in the clouds and air streams across to Iceland, and the high particulate matter count from America's engines, melting ice and altering temperatures of sea waters ever so slightly, upsetting mother natures delicate balance here – evoking global catastrophe! Europe a frozen Popsicle, Florida a ski resort, the Mediterranean a skating rink, and China a tropics! All this because a fat-assed American was to impatient to telecommute, and had to fly in and face his business head on and fail miserably against the Asians anyway! Even GM(America) has trucks with engines in them imported from China! "Made in America" be damned! We are done!