Thousands of Rubber Ducks to Finally End Journey 210
Bert de Jong writes "The Daily Mail reports that thousands of rubber ducks who have traveled the seas of the world since 1992 are about to end their journey. After escaping out of a container fallen off a Chinese freight ship in a storm, scientists have been followed them on their fifteen year trek. This has turned out to be an invaluable source of information for studying ocean currents. Now it seems inevitable though that they will finally land on the shores of South-West England. '[Oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer] correctly predicted what many thought was impossible - that thousands of them would end up washed into the Arctic ice near Alaska, and then move at a mile a day, frozen in the pack ice, around their very own North-West Passage to the Atlantic. It proved true years later and in 2003, the first Friendly Floatees were found, frozen and then thawed out, on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and Canada. So precious to science are they that the US firm that made them is offering a £50 bounty for finding one.'"
frosty duck (Score:0, Funny)
How can they identify one ducky from another? (Score:5, Funny)
1) Goto shop and purchase large amounts of rubber duckies
2) Emerse them in water and ice for a few years and so
3) Sell them to this company for 50 pounds each
4) Profit!
More seriously, maybe scientists should be getting more brightly coloured floating objects and chucking them in the sea at various points. What about red for Russia (two types, one for each coast), yellow for (no I won't go there...) and various other colours for other countries.
A great way to learn more about ocean currents.
But they would get into trouble with (some) environmentalists, maybe they need to just "accidentally" knock a few more crates overboard?
ralph wiggum (Score:3, Funny)
Welcome (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Quack! (Score:1, Funny)
Wanna bet? (Score:3, Funny)
Ob (Score:0, Funny)
Re:£50 bounty, for a duck? (Score:5, Funny)
Who wants to go to an Artic Expedition, we're mining ducks....
Re:this will eventually turn into a pixar movie. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:frosty duck (Score:0, Funny)
Re:This is actually interesting... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:this will eventually turn into a pixar movie. (Score:5, Funny)
I think you mean a duckumentary...
(I thank you, I thank you. Don't forget to tip your waitresses, etc.)
Re:This is actually interesting... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:£50 bounty, for a duck? (Score:2, Funny)
Perhaps we should just teach scientists to disguise their floats as rubber ducks or equip the floats with GPS so they're not so reliant of sightings to chart the course their floats are taking.
I foresee a whole new range of scientific devices...weather balloons shaped like alien heads (with a limited edition of Gremlin-features), rubber duck floats...
As an inhabitant of South West England (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, replacing the Council with faded yellow Chinese rubber ducks might actually be an improvement.
Re:£50 bounty, for a duck? (Score:1, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cunning plan (Score:3, Funny)
Re:this will eventually turn into a pixar movie. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:ralph wiggum (Score:2, Funny)
Re:New Scientists take on this press release (Score:4, Funny)
So here is the link to a more sensible website:
http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn121
You might be a paleneck if:
You complain about pics of scantily-clad babes distracting you from the article about frozen rubber duckies.
Re:This is actually interesting... (Score:5, Funny)
Talk about giving everybody the worst possible guide of everyday British life...
That's ok, it's not like we American's [wikipedia.org] don't [nypost.com] have [wikipedia.org] anything [britneyspears.com] to [wikipedia.org] be [foxnews.com] embarrassed [wikipedia.org] about either ;)
More like ICY duck... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:this will eventually turn into a pixar movie. (Score:5, Funny)
So this is how it ends *sniff* (Score:5, Funny)
Moby Dick doesn't have an outhouse (Score:2, Funny)
It may create local conditions that are unpleasant or even unhealthy for humans, but that's not the same as "bad for the environment". Lots of things that are perfectly natural are unpleasant or even downright deadly, and the presence of mass of fecal matter is no exception.
Where do you think all the fish in the sea go to shit? Ever wonder how lions find that herd of millions of wildebeests and zebras?
Re:Moby Dick doesn't have an outhouse (Score:4, Funny)
A. The water closet!
BASIC Strikes Again! (Score:3, Funny)
Wow, old habits die hard. GOTO? How about: ...
10 LET STEP1$ = "Go to shop and purchase large amounts of rubber duckies
20 LET STEP2$ = "Emerse them in water and ice for a few years and so"
30 LET STEP3$ = "Sell them to this company for 50 pounds each"
40 GOTO 1000
1000 REM Profit Routine
1010
Google Earth/Maps (Score:3, Funny)
Re:1. Train ticket to West Country 2.Profit!! (Score:3, Funny)
Please return to your campsites and ice cream shops and await further orders.
Re:£50 bounty, for a duck? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Duff Beer (Score:3, Funny)
We're in duck mode here.
Re:£50 bounty, for a duck? (Score:3, Funny)