Bottom of the News… Friday, July 23, 2010

Good morning my fellow Rotarians. Since having our own duck race recently, I have seen a few others in the news that I thought you all might find of interest…

Rubber Duck Invasion! - Nova Scotia, Canada: A major investigation was launched this week to determine the origin of the growing flotilla of rubber ducks that have been inundating Yarmouth Harbor for the past two weeks. The busy harbor has become awash with the small yellow bath toys which has created a danger zone for ferry and other boats that run from the island to the Mainland.

The ducks have been arriving over the past two weeks and officials have now declared them to be a major menace. At one point, Yarmouth Harbor looked like a giant carnival booth as officials tried to clear the blockade of ducks that were preventing boats from entering or exiting the harbor.

According to harbor master Herbert Drowney, they just recently determined where the ducks were coming from, with initial clues coming from contact details found on their bottoms.

Drowney learned that many towns on the mainland in New Brunswick and Maine run charity Duck Races in the summer. Most events along the coast throw thousands of ducks into the ocean to race them. However many ducks disappear in the tides and strong currents.

According to experts, the tides around the south end of Nova Scotia typically funnel most items out to sea, but the unique shape of a rubber duck causes them to swing into the harbor, almost as if they are attracted to the boats. Drowney continues to retrieve ducks from the harbor and this fall is planning to open a new toy store call Drowney Ducks – his main product will be “collectable survivor rubber ducks.”

Runaway Rubber Ducks need to be Rounded Up - Fort Wayne, IN: A child advocacy agency is hoping to get all its ducks in a row after more than 1,000 of their rubber entrants in a charity duck race floated to freedom in northeast Indiana.

The agency called Stop Child Abuse & Neglect says 17,000 rubber ducks were dropped into the St. Joseph River in Fort Wayne during the June 19th fundraiser, but that only 15,000 were retrieved that day. Spokeswoman Jennifer Boen says about 1,000 of the rogue ducks have since been recovered, and that some of the others have been spotted as far away as Ohio.

Duck Race Smashes World Record! - London: Organizers of Sunday's Great British Duck Race on the River Thames in Surrey say there were 205,000 rubber ducks in their race, nearly 5,000 more than the old record set last year. This unusual race wasn't just for fun however; it also raised money for the NSPCC, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Hundreds of spectators, some in duck costumes, lined the banks of the Thames to watch. All the ducks were adopted by people or businesses for £2 each, plus a donation to the NSPCC.

The owner of the winning duck #023871 wins £10,000, but as of Monday Noon, the winner had not yet come forward. This has been typical; several winners in the past never claimed their winnings either to allow the charity to keep the prize money. And one final note… this race took nearly three hours for the winning duck to cross the finish line! Wow, that’s a quaker!

And there you have it, our favorite yellow friends in the bottom of our news for this Friday, July 23, 2010.
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