In 1992, a Chinese cargo ship carrying rubber duckies departed from Hong Kong and bound for Washington, USA. However, during the journey in the Pacific, a strong storm was encountered, which caused more than 28,000 little yellow ducks to leak from the damaged container and float into the ocean.
Surprisingly, these little yellow ducks did not separate, but started a journey around the world. This journey around the world not only made it an Internet celebrity, but also helped researchers study ocean currents. So what is this? What’s the matter?
Little Yellow Duck’s Global Journey
The little yellow ducks themselves are toys designed for bathrooms, so they can float to the surface of the sea. The little yellow ducks floating on the sea do not stop in place, but float along the ocean current.
In the first few years, 19,000 ducks moved from the crash site along the Pacific subtropical circulation to Indonesia, Australia, South America, Hawaii and other regions, drifting an average of 11 kilometers per day.
Nearly 10,000 ducks escaped from the circulation and flowed northward, eventually floating to the Bering Strait, where they encountered floating ice. After encountering the ice floes, their marching speed slowed down a lot, and some were even frozen by the ice floes. But fortunately, when the ice floes melted, the ducks began to travel around the world and drifted to the east coast of the United States.
Every time the little yellow ducks drifted, they would arouse heated discussion among local residents, because each time they appeared in groups, like a fleet of little yellow ducks. In kindergartens and elementary schools in some countries, teachers use the story of a little yellow duck to tell children of bravery and courage, and some children are very excited to be able to pick up a little yellow duck on the beach in person.
With the growing popularity of the little yellow duck fleet, there are even some followers of the little yellow ducks who spontaneously formed a duck chasing team to track and monitor their drifting steps. Whenever this group of ducks landed, they would Fight for these ducks.
Because the duck fleet is too famous, these little yellow ducks also have collection value. The American company that originally imported this batch of ducks from China expressed its willingness to recycle these ducks at a price of 54 pounds each, but no one paid any attention at all. The reason is The price of the duck fleet on the market has soared to 1,000 pounds.
The scientific research value of little yellow duck
In addition to collection value, the little yellow ducks also have extremely high scientific research value.
We know that although the sea water in the ocean is integrated, the sea water will also move. There are many reasons for the ocean movement. Wind, tides, changes in sea water density, the rotation of the earth, and the shape of the coast will all affect the direction and speed of ocean currents. .
Although we have known the direction and law of ocean current movement through various means in the past, the appearance of the little yellow ducks has helped scientists study the movement of ocean currents.
There are a large number of little yellow ducks, and they will always float on the surface of the water and will not sink to the bottom. In addition, they are very conspicuous in the ocean, so researchers can track them and mark their movements on the map. Finally, Draw a map of the little yellow duck traveling around the world.
Through this map, scientists can just link their trajectories with ocean currents, and can clearly show the ocean currents and monsoon movements. These data are invaluable to scientists.
Why not put more little yellow ducks?
Since the little yellow ducks have extremely high collection value and scientific research value, why don’t we put more little yellow ducks in the ocean?
In fact, although the little yellow duck can help scientists study the effects of ocean currents, it is made of plastic and belongs to marine garbage. When the little yellow duck floats, some little yellow ducks will be torn apart by the sea breeze. The waves are crushed, and the fragments of the little yellow duck will be eaten by marine life, and will be enriched step by step among the higher marine life along the marine food chain.
A captain once found some small yellow duck fragments in the feces of an albatross, which means that they have entered the organism with the food. If humans feed on this, the small yellow duck fragments may also pass through. The role of food enrichment, enrichment into the human body.
It is precisely because they are so dangerous that we should prohibit the little yellow ducks from entering the ocean instead of actively putting them into the ocean.
to sum up
The little yellow ducks have a high reputation and extremely high collection value and scientific research value because of their global travels. However, because they are also marine debris and will harm the marine ecology, the later talents did not artificially put the little yellow ducks into the sea. It’s just that many commercial companies now inject small yellow ducks into rivers or lakes for gimmicks. If they are not salvaged, they will still have an adverse impact on the local ecology.
