In January 1992, a stupendous storm washed three containers off a ship that was bound from Hong Kong to Tacoma, Washington. One container spilled its contents into the sea no less than 29000 bathtub toys!
Two third of them bobbed off south through the tropics, landing months later on the shores of Indonesia, Australia, and South America. The remaining 10000 plastic ducks, turtles, frogs, and beavers headed north and were soon off the coast of Alaska whereupon they turned back westward. Some of the ducks made their way south and were seen floating past Japan in 1995. Many however, became trapped in the North pacific Gyre. This giant clockwise spiral of water collects and gradually grinds the oceans' plastic debris. However, even this couldn't halt the plucky ducks, which eventually broke free and pressed on. They bravely steered a course for the Arctic where some became trapped in ice for several years.
They finally reached the North Atlantic in 2000 and, in the summer of 2007, more than 15 years and nearly 17000 mi (27500 km) after their journey's start, flotillas of ducks, bleached white by the sun and sea, hit the coasts of Great Britain and North America.
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