Sunday, June 5, 2011

1861. Rubber Duck


A Rubber Duck is, as you might have guessed, a toy made out of rubber in the shape of a duck. It would bob happily atop the water in which you bathed, staring at you with happy eyes.
Though known to many as Ernie's toy on Sesame Street, the rubber duckie existed as early as the 1920s. These days, Rubber Ducks are actually made out of a thick vinyl, as it is cheaper and more durable than rubber. Most come with a nozzle (usually at the bottom) so that if you squeeze the duck, it will squeak a happy noise at you.
Now, seeing as Rubber Duckie is pushing 41 years old, whenever the show needs a new duck, the show takes the original and creates a rubber mold around it, and paints over the new mold. The rubber duck used nowadays does not actually squeak. A helper off camera makes the squeak noise. Because in 1969, Jim Henson literally bought the duck out of a store, and they do not make ducks in this design anymore, this is the only way to refurbish the duck.

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