Duck Your Jeep!

Being a Jeep owner requires a little cultural training. For one thing, you’re expected to wave at other Jeep owners when you see them on the road. 

Admittedly, the rule is relaxed on busy streets and freeways, and with the explosion in popularity that accompanied the four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, a lot of new owners haven’t gotten the memo at all. 

It was easier back in the days of the CJ-5, because there were a lot fewer Jeeps, and chances were good you were waving down another CJ owner because of a breakdown. 

Duck Duck Jeep

But now there’s a whole new ritual among Jeep enthusiasts. To be honest, this was news to me, even though I actually own and drive a classic Jeep. The new thing is called “ducking” or to use the hashtag, “#DuckDuckJeep.” 

The premise is simple: If you see a Jeep that strikes your fancy, you leave a little rubber ducky on the hood, or the door handle, or the fender, or wherever seems good to you. Maybe you write “Nice Jeep!” on the duck itself or on a tag around its neck. Go ahead, the duck won’t mind. Just follow basic car etiquette and don’t reach inside anyone’s rig, mmmkay? 

The idea is that the Jeep owner finds the duck, appreciates the compliment, and maybe passes the duck along in good time. Or potentially, the Jeep owner ends up with a collection of rubber ducks on the dashboard. It’s kind of a free-form thing and there aren’t any hard-and-fast rules. 

The practice was invented by Jeep enthusiast Allison Parliament of Ontario, Canada. The story goes that she had a bad day, and she left a rubber ducky on someone’s Jeep as a way to cheer herself up. Today she’s known as — seriously, this is true — the “Mother Ducker.” You can watch an interview with Allison where she talks about the whole thing. 

Today, Jeep ducking is going on from sea to shining sea. If you have an excellent Jeep and it hasn’t been ducked yet, chances are it will be soon. 

Hitting the big time

It didn’t take long for Jeep-oriented companies to hop on board the fad. Last fall at the Detroit Auto Show, Jeep enthusiasts were honored with the world’s largest inflatable rubber duck outside the convention hall. The duck was 61 feet tall and 79 feet long, and weighed more than 8,000 pounds. 

Additionally, Jeep gave out thousands of special edition rubber ducks to people who came by the product display, and those who posted photos with the gargantuan Ducky were eligible for a prize drawing. 

This came on the heels of a summertime ducky photo contest organized by BFGoodrich for a free set of tires. The tire company donated money for each entry to an organization called “Ducking for Teachers.” And of course, you can buy ducks and ducking supplies on Amazon, if that’s your jam. We’re not in the judging business here. 

So as you make your way through this often troubled world, maybe you can bring a little joy to someone’s heart with something is simple as a rubber duck. Stranger things have happened. 

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• Source: https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2023/04/duck-your-jeep/