in #CASE you were curious about: Rubber Duckies

in #CASE you were curious about: Rubber Duckies

January 13th is National Rubber Ducky Day!

Can’t forget about of these bath time rubbery friends, here’s a list of fun rubber duckie facts.

The origins of rubber ducks trace back to the late 1800s, when Charles Goodyear nailed the chemical process that makes rubber malleable. Early versions were not much fun, however, more like heavy “chew toys,” as a scholar described them to the “New York Times.”

Sculptor Peter Ganine created a sculpture of a duck in the 1940s, then patented it and reproduced it as a floating toy, of which over 50,000,000 were sold.

Rubber ducks have set records: Charlotte Lee of Huntington Beach, California, has held the Guinness World Record for largest rubber duck collection (boasting 5,631 unique duckies) since April 10th, 2011.

A 2001“Sun” tabloid article claimed Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth had a rubber duck with an inflatable crown in Buckingham Palace, citing “a workman” tasked to redecorate the Queen’s bathroom walls.

Rubber duck “races” involve putting a number on the bottom, and dumping them into the water – the one that floats to the finish line first, wins. According to "Time" magazine, the earliest race, run by a former Arizona real estate broker Eric Schechter in 1988, raised $150,000 for the Scottsdale substance abuse programs, and Schechter then became founder of the Great American Duck Races.

Rubber duck races aren’t assumed legal – in a number of states, the events were considered a form of illegal gambling – and had to be approved by their state or town. They often events have cheeky names like “Ducktona 500” and “Lucky Ducky Derby.”

Every year, over 25,000 rubber ducks are dumped into the Ohio River for the annual Ken-Ducky Derby where people can adopt a rubber duck for the duration of the race. All proceeds benefit the Harbor House of Louisville; a non-profit training and development center that seek to empower individuals with disabilities.


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