Rubber Duckie: A Bath Time Toy or so Much More?
In the mid 1970’s the now beloved children’s show “Sesame Street” featured an episode in which Ernie takes a bath. The scene was complete with foam made to look like bubbles floating on the water, a cut out of the side of a bath tub, a bubble machine making bubbles fly through the air, and a yellow rubber duckie. Since this segment was about making bath time fun, Ernie, who at the time was being voiced by Jim Henson, began to dance and sing with the rubber duckie proclaiming that he is “awfully fond” of the rubber duckie, and proclaims that the rubber duckie is the sole reason that bath time is fun.
This episode of Sesame Street aired almost a century after the rubber duckie was introduced. The original concept of the rubber duckie is from the late 1800’s when rubber manufacturing was just emerging as a large industry. It was not until 1923 when the first floating rubber duckie was invented as a bath toy that was weighted so it would return to its upright position when tipped over. In the 1940’s when the rubber duckie was reinvented by sculpture Peter Ganine, his version of the classic toy closer resembled the toy that we know and love today. This version of the duck was actually part of a larger line of floatable animals that Ganine patented in the 40’s. The rubber duckie, however, is the only one that caught on and became extremely popular. Another sixty years later in 2013 the rubber duckie was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame becoming one of only 52 toys to be given this honor (National Toy Hall of Fame).
The rubber duck’s long history makes it very worthy of this honor. Since the original invention of the rubber duck it has been helping in early childhood development. The first solid plastic version from the 1800’s was intended to be used as a chew toy for teething children. The 1920’s and 1940’s version of the toy helped children with their motor skills, along with develop their coordination and muscle strength. The design of the rubber duck was supposed to be cute and comforting for children who were afraid of the water making bath time difficult. The kind face of the rubber duckie helped children learn about hygiene and get then into a routine of keeping themselves clean (National Toy Hall of Fame).
So, if the rubber duckie is designed for early childhood development, then how did a small mom and pop store that only sold rubber ducks reach a million dollars in revenue within a little over ten years? Why do I keep one on my desk? Is it because I am a nostalgic person who has a tough time giving away things form my childhood? I would say that this is the case for a part of its extreme success, but I have no memories of ever using a rubber duckie as a child and the duck that I have I got only a few months ago. So perhaps there is a deeper purpose of the rubber duckie that goes beyond early childhood development. Perhaps it may also serve as a useful tool in many aspects of adult life.
Outside the bathtub the rubber duckie can do just as much good as it can in the tub, the same toy that helps kids develop their muscle strength and get over their fear of water also helps feed millions all over the world. In 1973 there was a calendar that was published by Sesame Street that included all important dates for the cast of Sesame Street including the birthday of Ernie’s rubber duckie. This day was January 13th and it would soon become national rubber duck day.
Festivities are held all over the world, all to celebrate the little floating bath toy. One of the most popular festivities on national rubber duck day is a rubber duck race. This will often consist of thousands of rubber ducks being released into a river making it a sea of yellow. Events like these are normally organized by charities as fundraisers that use the sales of rubber duckies to help feed those who are less fortunate, one race in Ohio even promises to feed fifteen people with each duck sold (Rubber Duck Regatta). Another popular activity is the appearance of “Mama Duck.” Mama Duck is the words largest rubber duck standing at six stories tall. While Mama Duck is not going to fit into any bathtub, she fits well in shipping canals where she towers over ships from all over North America, even appearing in the water of Tacoma, Washington.
Charity is not the only other purpose that the rubber duckie has had outside of the bathtub. In 1992, somewhere near the Hawaiian Islands a shipping container full of rubber ducks fell overboard and thousands of the plastic floating toy were released into the ocean. This accident has become the most influential events in the science of oceanography. Because these little yellow toys never sink they have allowed oceanographers track the oceans currents and tides better than they ever have before giving science a better understanding of how the oceans work. Some of these rubber duckies have been found all over the world, they traveled incredibly long distances with some being found in the Indian ocean, on the beaches of the United Kingdom, and one has even been found frozen in the arctic ice (Nelson).
The charity the rubber duck supports is one unintended purpose of the toy that does a lot of good things for this world, another would be the accidental dumping of thousands of them into the Pacific Ocean that has helped science understand the way ocean works. However, neither of these explain just why I and so many other people keep these toys on their desks or around their homes. This is because of a thought processing technique called rubber ducking. This technique that was originally used by computer programmers involves using a rubber duck to verbally process your thoughts while you are working. I have found that this technique is an extremely useful purpose of the rubber duck outside of the bathtub. I have always been a verbal processor and there isn’t always someone around to listen to me work through my ideas. This works no matter what I am working on, whether it be coding assignment where I can I hear my mistakes as I explain them to my duck, or a paper that I am writing where I can hear myself explain ideas and structure for the paper all while my duck sits silently listening.
The rubber duckie has come a long way from the solid rubber original from the 1800’s. The toy has helped small children with their motor skills and learn that water is not something to be feared. It has helped feed millions of people all over the world by participating in some of the largest races that are held all over the globe. It has helped science explore the ocean currents and tides like it never has been able to in the past, and in the process, it got to travel all over the world. And it has helped me and many other verbal processors like me get their ideas straight and listened to us when others wouldn’t.
When Jim Henson sang the rubber duckie song in 1970 he had no idea the cultural phenomenon that he was creating. The song became so wildly popular that it reached number 16 on 1970’s top 100 songs list and was nominated for a Grammy. Due to this the people who film Sesame Street have used the same rubber duckie that they did for the original recording of the song ever since to ensure that every rerecording has the same squeaking noise that the original did. This incredible success prompted Sesame Street to create a sequel for the song and title it “Do De Rubber Duckie.” While this song generated much less success than the original song it did focus much more on making sure that kids would develop good cleaning habits. These two songs are often credited with being responsible for the major success that the rubber duckie would become.
Works Cited
The Strong National Museum of Play. http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/rubber-duck. Accessed hhhhh28 Feb. 2018.
Fournier, Anabelle. The Spruce. 2017, https://www.thespruce.com/short-history-of-the-rubber-hhhhhduckie-326954. Accessed 28 Feb 2018.
“Episode 0109” Sesame Street, season 1, episode 9, PBS, 9 Apr. 1970.
Nelson, Bryan. Mother Nature Network. 2011, https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-hhhhhresources/stories/what-can-28000-rubber-duckies-lost-at-sea-teach-us-about. Accessed 28 hhhhhFeb. 2018
