# Britain to be invaded this summer! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 6, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britain-to-be-invaded-this-summer/414558 "2007-08-06T00:25:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britain-to-be-invaded-this-summer/414558/1 "2007-08-06T00:25:39Z")
Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer predicts that [thousands of rubber ducks](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=464768&in_page_id=1770) will be landing on the southwest shores of Britain this summer. He’s been tracking these ducks for 15 years and 17,000 miles. (ObLink: **AskNott** had a [question about them](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=351804) a couple years back.) The linked article is nicely detailed and includes a brief time line. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britain-to-be-invaded-this-summer/414558/2 "2007-08-06T00:43:05Z")
How amazing! Are we sure this is not part of a long-term plot of Hitler’s? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britain-to-be-invaded-this-summer/414558/3 "2007-08-06T02:15:43Z")
Well, I feel old. I remember hearing about that in 2nd grade when the spill first happened. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britain-to-be-invaded-this-summer/414558/4 "2007-08-06T06:45:16Z")
Why are they called rubber ducks when, as the article explains, they are actually made of plastic ? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britain-to-be-invaded-this-summer/414558/5 "2007-08-06T06:54:44Z")
[QUOTE=Captain\_C] Well, I feel old. I remember hearing about that in 2nd grade when the spill first happened. [/QUOTE] Jesus, this post makes _me_ feel old. In 1992 I was thirteen. (Yes, I know, this post is now making everyone older than me feel old.) Anyway, very cool! ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britain-to-be-invaded-this-summer/414558/6 "2007-08-06T08:58:02Z")
I for one welcome our new rubber overlords. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britain-to-be-invaded-this-summer/414558/7 "2007-08-06T09:11:13Z")
[QUOTE=Rayne Man] Why are they called rubber ducks when, as the article explains, they are actually made of plastic ? [/QUOTE] Because ducks of this general design aesthetic and purpose were originally made from rubber. They’re made from other plastics now, but the name stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britain-to-be-invaded-this-summer/414558/8 "2007-08-06T09:20:35Z")
If they had been made from rubber they would have rotted away by now.