Rubber ducks still floating after 21 years

In 1992, a large shipment of thousands of yellow rubber ducks left China on a ship. Tacoma, Wash., was the delivery point for the ducks, along with thousands of other friends, including rubber frogs, turtles and beavers — 28,000 plastic toys in all. On Jan. 10, 1992, a storm changed the course of the plastic toys, and many are still enjoying their journey.

The violent storm caused the 12 containers of plastic animals to go overboard. That is when the real journey began. The ducks jumped ship more than 24 years ago, and to this day, rubber ducks — along with some of their friends — are washing up on shores all over the world. This accidental experiment has provided a unique look at the science of ocean currents.
These toys had a unique characteristic that made all the difference. The toys did not have holes in them like other rubber ducks from other companies. This allowed them to stay afloat. Also unlike other rubber ducks, these toys were each wrapped in plastic and attached to a cardboard back. Tests have shown that the cardboard quickly rotted away, leaving the floating ducks to ride the ocean currents.

Two oceanographers from Seattle used the accident to help them study ocean currents. The first floating friends showed up 2,000 miles away on the coast of Alaska 10 months after their escape. Over the next year, more than 400 of the rubber ducks were found on the Alaskan coast.

Some of the floating friends were not quite done traveling. Some circled the Pacific Ocean, and others traveled north through the Bering Strait and into the Arctic. These cold rubber ducks were trapped in the Arctic ice pack. Ice in the Arctic slowly moves east. The trapped and frozen ducks traveled between five and seven years in the ice until thawing in the North Atlantic ocean. Once thawed, the ducks started floating once again.

Some ducks showed up in the Eastern part of the United States from 2000-2003. Other ducks traveled on to England and arrived starting in 2003. Even today, a floating duck, turtle, frog or beaver occasionally floats onto a beach while others continue to ride the ocean currents. They look a little different, though — only the frogs have kept their color. All the other toys have faded to white.

While this floating trash can be kind of cute, it has given scientists a look at how long it takes trash to ride the currents or how fast the Arctic ice sheet travels. This data have become particularly useful when predicting the path of large areas of trash created by tsunamis or other natural disasters. Many things have been spilled into the ocean — such as 61,000 pairs of Nike shoes in 1990 — but none has persistently floated to provide the scientific data provided by the 28,000 rubber ducks and friends.

Thanks to the unique design and density, these toys will be giving beach lovers a surprise for many years to come as only a fraction of them has washed ashore.

It all started with one duck named Bartlett who planned the Great Escape

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