To the editor:
It's a lazy Saturday, and for some reason when I plopped down in front of my computer, it occurred to me to try to find out what started this trend of Jeeps with their dashboards loaded with little rubber ducks.
Since I no longer live in the Bay area I don't know if it's as big a phenomenon there as it is where I live - I'd say about 80% of the Jeeps I see have at least one duck on board. (It's made me realize how many darn Jeeps there are out there!)
So I looked into it. And what I found out is that it's called "Ducking a Jeep."
It's the act of placing a small rubber duck on a Jeep that you randomly see.
The little rubber ducks can have messages written on them, perhaps sharing admiration for someone's customization or the amount of mud they've accumulated, or just showing some love for the community. The reason doesn't matter, because ducking is just meant to spread joy to other Jeep drivers.
The trend was started by a woman from Clanton, Ala., named Allison Parliament. She was born in Washago, Ont., and still has some family there. The viral movement that she founded to bring the Jeep community closer together is called "Duck Duck Jeep", and the movement has gone international. People everywhere are leaving rubber ducks and little appreciation notes on each other’s Jeeps.
So I thought I'd share this valuable research. If you didn't know the story before, now you do! You can share it with a friend.
Ian Saunders
