Today is National Rubber Ducky Day! In 1970, Jim Henson performed the song “Rubber Duckie” as Ernie on Sesame Street, and the rubber duck bath toy has been an iconic American symbol ever since. Rubber ducks have been around since the rise of the rubber industry in the late 1800s, but no one knows their exact origin.

Did you know that in January of 1992, a shipment of 29,000 rubber duckies fell off a cargo ship in the Pacific Ocean? By 2007, the “Friendly Floatees” had traveled 17,000 miles around the world on the ocean currents. Some are still afloat today! Over time, people reported seeing the duckies in places such as Australia, Indonesia, South America, the Bering Strait, the Arctic, and in the Atlantic Ocean!

Happy Rubber Ducky Day!