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Ernie is excited about this story.
The seaside town of Belfast, Maine recently welcomed a new visitor to their harbor. No, it’s not Wally the Walrus. But, it is something really big. (Run time: 4-1/2 minutes)
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Transcript:
CLINTON
Here’s a math problem for you: if a rubber ducky the size of a bar of soap is “lots of fun,” what about one the size of a truck full of jacuzzis?
That’s what residents of the seaside town of Belfast, Maine may be trying to calculate. Because there is a gigantic, bright yellow rubber ducky sitting in their harbor.
According to the city’s harbormaster, Katherine Given, the really, really, big bird suddenly appeared — or is it “landed” — on August 14th. It seems to be anchored to the bottom of the harbor. Officials say they have no idea who put it there.
The growth-spurt game bird, which looks exactly like it’s smaller bathtub counterpart, is estimated to be about 25 feet tall, and has one distinguishing feature — uh, aside from being 25 feet tall. The word “Joy” is written in large letters on the front of the fowl of unusual size.
At first residents thought it might have been connected to Belfest Harborfest, which had concluded at the end of the previous weekend. But organizers said they had nothing to do with it. Others think the massive mallard may have come from nearby Islesboro Island, where a similar, or the same duck had reportedly been spotted.
Regardless of where the Daffy Down-Easter came from, it seems to be making a big splash with the locals.
“Everybody loves it,” Harbormaster Given told the Bangor Daily News. “I have no idea who owns it, but it kind of fits Belfast. A lot of people want to keep it here.”
Indeed. It has already become quite the tourist attraction. Residents of other towns have been making a detour to the harbor just to see the salt-water quacker.
Giant rubber ducks have been making themselves seen for at least the past 20 years, when artist Florentijn Hofman began installing them in waterways on a worldwide tour. He called the project “Spreading Joy Around the World.” However, those ducks stood six stories tall, truly making even the world’s largest harbors look like bathtubs.
Given said she isn’t in any hurry to get rid of the surprise visitor, even though it has migrated a bit. Originally the floating fowl figure was in the shallows, in an area where it didn’t interfere with trafic. However, wind from a recent thunderstorm dragged it a little closer to the mouth of the harbor.
“If it was in the middle of the mooring field, it could be kind of a navigational hazard,” she said, but added that in it’s current location, “it’s not bothering anybody.”
If the enormous avian does begin to make an exit from the harbor, we can offer only one piece of advice: Make way for duckling!
But for now, that’s it. We’re done, done, done, done, done. Bye bye.