“Like A Virgin”:  My First Ducking

I have a rubber duck collection.  It started several years ago when I stayed at a Hilton in Switzerland.  Lounging in the bathroom was a little yellow duck with a stamp reading “Hilton.CH” (I later learned the “CH” stands for the Latin words Confoederatio Helvetica…the Swiss Confederation).  A couple of years later I stayed at the Hilton Berlin Hotel where I was greeted by a green rubber duck (with Hilton.DE stamped on him, for Deutschland).  Smart marketing because it enticed me to book at other Hiltons, but outside of the Germanic countries…no luck with a duck.

 

I did however teach myself how to ask for a duck in German to use the next time I was in that part of the world, and the German Hilton housekeeping loved it so much, I acquired fowl friends in a variety of colors including blue, and even one that glows in the dark.   Now wherever I travel, I always enquire if the hotel has ‘kids toys’ and am the proud owner of ducks from various hotel brands in Australia, San Fran, the UK, Hawaii…. Even Lufthansa airlines has contributed.  My rule had been no buying of ducks (although I was very tempted when I came across a rubber duck store in Spain – but my willpower remained intact).  I prefer to be given a duck in an unexpected way (and not by friends or family – I’m not looking to become the ‘crazy duck lady’!).

 

Before my Jeep, Sunny, came into my life, I’d heard there was some sort of Jeep/duck tie in but didn’t know much about it.  The salesman at the dealership mentioned it too, so now I’ve read a few articles on the subject – what a random connection to my duck collection!

 

Turns out, Jeep “ducking” (placing a duck on someone’s Jeep to spread joy) is a newer phenomenon, started in 2020, by a warm-hearted Canadian woman called Allison.  With my Jeep ownership already a week and a half in, I felt compelled to get into the game.  After perusing a ridiculously large selection of online options, a paddling of rubber ducks arrived and I selected a bright orange/yellow/red toy for the inaugural experience.

The first Jeep sighting of the day was in a parking lot at a nearby park.  A masculine looking vehicle in need of a splash of color.  I put the little guy on the hood, took a quick picture and left him to be found by the unsuspecting new owner (who hopefully saw the gift before driving away).  I would like to think it brought a smile to someone’s face – it sure did mine.

Now, I wonder if I’ll ever discover a little ducky friend sitting on Sunny one day.  If not, I might have to go up to someone and say “Kann ich bitte eine Ente haben” (and hope they both speak German and have a duck).