Sir Hamster of Elderberry
KWSN ArchBishop
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 5117
Location: Beer City, Cheese Quadrant
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 Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:22 pm Post subject: Rubber Duckies for Science |
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Reposted from www.seedmagazine.com
| Quote: | Cute, Yellow, Chubby, Valuable to Science
In 1992, nearly 29,000 bright yellow rubber ducks broke free of their bathtub-bound destinies and set off to sail the high seas. While the company whose cargo ship spilled the ducks likely counted the dump as a loss, the ducks have proved to be an ideal tracking device for researchers interested in studying ocean currents. Citizens of the world are unlikely to report the arrival of the boring floats scientists usually use to track currents, but when a swarm of rubber duckies lands on a beach, locals are more likely to contact the authorities. Retired oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer has been tracking the ducks as they have traveled over 17,000 miles, and he is currently predicting that the rubber flock will turn up on the beaches of South-West England this summer. After being dumped in the middle of the Pacific, the ducks were caught in the Subpolar Gyre and landed on the shores of Alaska. Over the next three years they headed to Japan and eventually came back to North America. Some adventurous ducks headed north across the pole and arrived in the Atlantic, visiting the wreckage site of the Titanic. Ducks have recently been reported on the eastern seaboard of the US, and Ebbesmeyer says the Atlantic currents should take them across the pond. Keep your eyes peeled, Brits: If you find a duck, The First Years company will give you a $100 (~£50) savings bond. |
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