Duckumentary 44.7ºN, 178.1ºE

During a storm in 1992, thousands of rubber ducks fell off a cargo ship into the Pacific Ocean. In 2003, fine artist Marga Houtman read about the ducks, which by then had been swept along by ocean currents for years. In 2005, she completed a giant rubber duck: 'Mother is looking for chicks'. She launched it in Cornwall, where the lost ducks are reported to wash ashore before long. It turns out that oceanographers and beachcombers collaborate in the search for the ducks. But sometimes they get confused by charitable duck races that are held over the world. For example, numbered ducks from London could easily end up on Texel. But these are not the ducks. While people figure out whether the rubber ducks' journey can be scientifically proven or is just an urban legend, rubber duck collectors are introduced. Why does the rubber duck have such a huge appeal? What are the origins of the rubber duck, which does not look like a real duck at all? And what are the criteria for a decent rubber duck, according to fans, artists and social psychologists?