Nike shoes and rubber ducks riding the ocean currents...

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I mentioned this to a few friends and they thought I was nuts so I posted some info about it...

Twelve years and counting — the saga of the tots’
tub toys continues. On January 10, 1992, 28,800 turtles, ducks, beavers and frogs packed in a cargo container — called Floatees by the manufacturer — splashed into the mid-Pacific, where the 45th parallel intersects the International Date Line (44.7?N, 178.1?E). During August- September, 1992, after 2,200 miles adrift, hundreds beached near Sitka, Alaska. Twelve years later, in 2004, beachcombers were still ?nding the bath-time critters.

At Sitka’s second annual beachcomber fair held on
25 July 2004, Dean Orbison and son Tyler Orbison, 22, exhibited a hamper full of 111 toys they’d beachcombed nearby Sitka during 1993-2004. The basket held comparable numbers: 18% turtles, 35% ducks, 26% beavers, and 21% frogs. During years at sea, the ducks and beavers faded to white while the turtles and frogs remained original blue and green, respectively. Animal bites and the surf smashing them against rocks had ruptured many.

Through the years, Dean patiently recorded the date and location where they found ninety of the fist-sized toys.

Read more: Rubber Duckies...

Read more: CNN.com - How sneakers, toys and hockey gear help ocean science - May. 28, 2003

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