# Why do so many cars - not just Jeeps - have ducks and stuff on their dashboards? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 14, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036 "2025-09-14T16:07:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/21 "2025-09-15T22:38:55Z")
I bought a small plastic model of a woodland duck in 1991 and it is currently attached to to the dashboard of the fourth car I’ve owned since then. As a bonus, it has a built-in pencil sharpener. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/22 "2025-09-15T22:55:54Z")
> [@susan](#): > > In Oregon Ducks land, many people I know do it, so that’s a confounding variable. A whole lotta ducks and the BVM. What is BVM? I mostly see **Bag-Valve Mask.** Is that what you meant? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/23 "2025-09-15T23:04:04Z")
It’s for [debugging](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging) on the go. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/24 "2025-09-15T23:57:36Z")
Blessed Virgin Mary. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/25 "2025-09-17T18:11:06Z")
One thing about putting stuff on your dash. If it’s stuck on the dash with adhesive, the adhesive may eventually liquify in the heat and become a sticky mess that will permanently mess up the surface of the dash. Even if it’s just placed on the dash, the plastic may degrade in the heat and leave a residue on the dash where it sat. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/26 "2025-09-17T18:22:52Z")
It makes the vehicle easier to find in the parking lot, and it is a conversation piece for guests. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2025, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/27 "2025-09-17T18:57:28Z")
My dashboard mascots Gumby and E. Lizardbreath have racked up many miles over the last 20 years or so. Here they are enjoying the scenery on Route 66 in Arizona. [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54794465553_d3d547e7a2_z.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54794465553_d3d547e7a2_z.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/28 "2025-09-19T00:38:55Z")
My best friend and cousin, and her friend a gay guy do the same thing with Barbie dolls and paraphernalia. They both have tee shirts that read “I wish I was Barbie, that bitch has everything!” And now they prank each other with Barbie stuff. You might get a Barbie Jeep or, I donno, Barbie herself standing on your lawn. Quite fun really. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2025, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/29 "2025-09-19T06:26:09Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > same thing with Barbie dolls I keep shit that I find out in the Desert in the Jeep if practical. I found a Barbie Head, and after taking out the hard plastic rod that serves as a neck, it makes a really good antenna topper. She had a Ponytail, and it doubles as a very accurate wind-vane when stationary. I had a petrified Horny-Toad too, but Teddy ate it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2025, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/30 "2025-09-19T12:27:00Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I found a Barbie Head, and after taking out the hard plastic rod that serves as a neck, it makes a really good antenna topper. She had a Ponytail, and it doubles as a very accurate wind-vane when stationary. Absolutely love it. I’ll pass this on to my cousin. Not many cars have antenna rods anymore though. Hmmm. I wonder what kind of car her friend drives… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2025, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/31 "2025-09-19T13:08:12Z")
Until recently I have only seen the ducks in Jeeps. Last week I saw it in a Toyota SUV. As dumb as I find the Jeep thing I find it dumber to take another group’s thing and copy it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2025, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/32 "2025-09-19T16:26:20Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Last week I saw it in a Toyota SUV. As dumb as I find the Jeep thing I find it dumber to take another group’s thing and copy it. I might guess it’s a case of the Toyota owner maybe seeing ducks in other cars (which happen to often be Jeeps), and thinking, “those are cute, I think I’ll do that,” while not knowing (or caring) that it’s, at least in part, a “Jeep thing.” ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036/33 "2025-09-21T00:07:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > As dumb as I find the Jeep thing I find it dumber to take another group’s thing and copy it. I have no idea how long ducks in jeeps has been a thing, but I bought my dashboard duck mascot about 35 years ago. I also have been making the Homer Simpson “duh-oh” sound since way before the show started airing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-cars-not-just-jeeps-have-ducks-and-stuff-on-their-dashboards/1023036.md?page=1)