The rubber ducks have a long and respectable history in the world of children, and most of us had at least one rubber duck in the collection of childhood toys.
It is not clear why January 13 was announced as the rubber ducks day, but it is quite clear that this bath toy deserves a respectful day of its own.
Fun facts about rubber ducks:
The first rubber ducks were made in the 19th century and were yellow in color. The manufacturers used vulcanized rubber, invented by Charles Goodyear. The ducks could not float at that time but were used as chew toys.
In the 1940s sculptor Peter Ganine created a floating duck toy and patented it. The toy has sold over 50,000,000 units.
In the 1970s, Jim Hanson created a song that Eric from Sesame Street sang about his rubber duckling, which boosted the sales of the rubber ducklings.
In 1992, 29,000 rubber ducks were lost at sea on their way from China to Seattle, USA. They fell from a ship during a storm. After more than a decade and voyage across three oceans, the ducks reached the shores of New England in the USA.
In 2001 the rubber ducklings became famous again when a rubber duck with an inflatable crown was discovered in the bath of Queen Elizabeth II of England. The duck was discovered by one of the workers who repaired the bathtub after the duck got stuck in the pipes.
In 2007, a world Guinness record was set for the largest collection of rubber ducks in the world, which included 1,439 rubber ducks, by Charlotte Lee.
In 2013, the rubber ducks entered the "American Toy Hall of Fame." This hall is a place where old toys have been preserved for many years and it contains only 63 toys since it was established in 1998.
The largest rubber duck in the world is found in Sydney, Australia, 16.5 meters high, 20 meters wide and 32 meters long. It weighs 600 pounds.
In Europe, the USA and Australia rubber duck races are held in different lakes.
Today you can buy rubber ducks in different colors, disguised as different characters (both movie and culture stars and even politicians) and in different sizes.
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| Poop-shaped brown rubber ducks (link) |
How to celebrate Rubber Ducks Day?
If you have rubber ducks at home, you can take a bath with them, take photos and upload them to the social network (you do not have to take photos with them).
You can go to a lake, stream or pool and do rubber duck racing with friends.
If you do not have a rubber duck, you can buy one. You can start a collection of rubber ducks in different shapes, figures and colors.
What is important, today is to remember the rubber ducks and the experiences you had with them in the bath as a child.
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| In the photo: Who has no memories of rubber ducks in the bath with foam? (source) |
January 13 is also Sticker Day and Skeptics Day