Ducks Mean Bucks... or Bonds, at Least!

Heading to the New England shore? Take your binoculars and scan the horizon diligently for... rubber ducks. More than a decade ago, a container holding 29,000 yellow ducky bathtub toys fell off a cargo ship during a North Pacific storm. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a retired oceanographer, has been tracking the plastic playthings from Hawaii to Alaska, through the Bering Strait and Arctic waters and now into the North Atlantic. According to Ebbesmeyer, some of the ducks are due to come ashore in New England, Canada and Iceland at any moment. Avon, Massachusetts-based The First Years, Inc., a leading maker of infant and toddler products, including the rubber ducks, is planning to welcome the flock home with open arms. Anyone who finds one of the ducks (see image) is encouraged to call The First Years' Parents Service Center toll free at 800 317-3194. Once The First Years confirms the authenticity of the duck, the finder will receive a $100 U.S. Savings Bond. The First Years also will report duck discoveries to Ebbesmeyer, who will incorporate the data into his studies of ocean currents.