The student news site of Greater Latrobe High School

The High Post

The student news site of Greater Latrobe High School

The High Post

The student news site of Greater Latrobe High School

The High Post

    Rubber Ducky, You’re The One

    I am a whopping 5 foot three inches. I look like a leprechaun compared to these two.
    I am a whopping 5 foot three inches. I look like a leprechaun compared to these two.

    “Rubber ducky, you’re the one! You make bath time so much fun.” Do you remember when Ernie from Sesame Street used to sing about his beloved bathtime friend? Pittsburgh became much more fun when an extremely large duck graced its waterways . Imagine the duck in your tub times about forty, then you’d have the World’s Largest Rubber Ducky stationed in the Allegheny River along side PNC Park from Friday, September 27 to Sunday, October 20. On Friday, September 27, Pittsburgh’s Cultural Trust set up a “Festival of Firsts” that kicked off with the duck floating down the Allegheny.

    Hong Kong gracefully sent the duck to Pittsburgh, which made Pittsburgh the first city in the United States to display the duck. Michael Dougherty and Bob Mason (or as known as Mikey and Big Bob from 96.1 Kiss FM Pittsburgh’s morning radio personalities-Morning Freak Show) are the duck’s “adoptive daddies.” About a year ago when Mikey started tracking the duck’s whereabouts. Mikey said “The duck was something that I’d check into from time to time and when it was announced that the duck was coming to Pittsburgh, Me and Bob were extremely excited.”

    The duck was proposed to them by the Cultural Trust of Pittsburgh. They became the adoptive daddies of the gigantic duck. At first, many people wanted to chip in, but the head of the cultural trust had set a big “no, no” down on it. They wanted to keep it as company free as possible. The duck is a representation of anti-discrimination and community togetherness. The duck brought together all races, ages, and people from all over. For Pittsburgh, this was an “awesome, safe, fun event. It was amazing to think that a duck could bring together a whole city.” said Mikey.

    The ducky in all it's glory!

    When asked about how they thought that the Pirates were going to do in the playoffs, Mikey laughed. “The Pirates are okay, but I think the duck is going to bring them some extra luck. Just to see the duck in the water behind PNC park is going to scare the heck out of people, but I think that it will be great. We want to keep it here longer if the Pirates make the playoffs.”
    According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, after Pittsburgh, the duck is not allowed to be seen in any other U.S. city for three months due to an agreement the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s vice president, Paul Organisa, made with Florentijn Hofman, the dutch artist that made the duck.

    In the course of 23 days, an estimated one-million people had come to see the duck. It made older citizens have a flashback of their youth. It made younger citizens have a sense of nostalgia. It was like the duck united a city. It was like the duck was made for Pittsburgh.

    More to Discover