Floating toys aiding scientists

I was pleased to learn that the little frog had finally madelandfall after almost 15 years at sea, even if the critter might havegone off course a bit during its epic journey.

The Times of London reported recently that the green plastic frog,a member of a legendary fleet of bath toys washed overboard in thePacific Ocean and hunted by scientists ever since, was spotted on theshore of a Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides.

It's the first confirmed case of one of the toys having reachedEurope, culminating a 10,000-mile trip that is helping scientistschart the movements of tides and currents across the globe.

You might recall reading about this little band of tub toys, whichI wrote about a few years ago after being informed by one of theoceanographers who was tracking its movement that we in Maine shouldkeep our eyes out for the little guys.

"They could be anywhere along the coast of Maine," said JamesIngraham, who works with the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration's National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle. "Ifanyone finds one, we'd love to hear about it. We need the reports."

The saga of the world's most sought-after tub toys began in 1992,when a violent storm tossed 20 containers of the smiley-faced plasticanimals off the back of a cargo ship, halfway between Seattle andChina. The nearly 29,000 toys, which include yellow ducks, greenfrogs, blue turtles and red beavers, then set sail on a fantasticvoyage that has taken them all the way from the Pacific Ocean to theAtlantic, by way of the Arctic Ocean.

Ingraham explained to me at the time that he and fellow NOAAoceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer had spent more than 20 years trackingassorted flotsam as a way of charting the movements of ocean surfacecurrents worldwide.

They hoped their studies of these "oceanographic blind spots"could help scientists to better predict severe weather such ashurricanes, floods and droughts, as well as provide valuable data tocommercial fishermen about the migratory patterns of fish stocks.

Their Ocean Surface Current Simulator was originally developed in1991, in fact, to track the path of some 30,000 pairs of Nikesneakers that had fallen from a ship in the mid-Pacific Ocean. Theoceanographers, who clearly know how to inject whimsy into theirwork, are also monitoring the global drift of 34,000 hockey glovesand millions of floating Legos.

Whenever one of the tub toys is found, the men plug the findinginto the simulator program to map where the fleet has been and todetermine where it might be heading.

Their simulator worked well enough to predict the arrival ofrubber duckies on the Alaska coast not long after they went into thedrink. The computer model also was able to forecast duck landings onthe shores of Washington state, and the toys also have washed up inHawaii and the Queen Charlotte Islands off Canada.

A man once claimed to have found an intrepid little frog in theHebrides Islands, off Scotland, but didn't keep it because he didn'tknow it was one of the famous tub-toy fleet.

The same thing happened in Kennebunkport a few years back, when awoman who had read about the unique oceanographic project reportedhaving found a duck that matched the description of those in themenagerie.

She was even able to confirm that the toy she discovered on thebeach was embossed with the manufacturer's name, First Years Inc.,which promises a $100 savings bond to anyone who recovers one of thelittle worldly wanderers.

Unfortunately for the Maine woman, however, she didn't keep herduck either and wasn't able to cash in.

So if you happen to be strolling a Maine beach this summer,remember that there are a couple of West Coast oceanographers whowould very much like you to stay alert for washed-up bath toys. Thereare still thousands of them out there on the high seas, after all,and one of them might just be bobbing its way to a section of thecoastline near you.

As a delighted Ebbesmeyer remarked to the Times of London afterthe latest frog find, "Who would have thought it: Bath-time crittershave given us a new science."

Floating toys aiding scientists

I was pleased to learn that the little frog had finally madelandfall after almost 15 years at sea, even if the critter might havegone off course a bit during its epic journey.

The Times of London reported recently that the green plastic frog,a member of a legendary fleet of bath toys washed overboard in thePacific Ocean and hunted by scientists ever since, was spotted on theshore of a Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides.

It's the first confirmed case of one of the toys having reachedEurope, culminating a 10,000-mile trip that is helping scientistschart the movements of tides and currents across the globe.

You might recall reading about this little band of tub toys, whichI wrote about a few years ago after being informed by one of theoceanographers who was tracking its movement that we in Maine shouldkeep our eyes out for the little guys.

"They could be anywhere along the coast of Maine," said JamesIngraham, who works with the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration's National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle. "Ifanyone finds one, we'd love to hear about it. We need the reports."

The saga of the world's most sought-after tub toys began in 1992,when a violent storm tossed 20 containers of the smiley-faced plasticanimals off the back of a cargo ship, halfway between Seattle andChina. The nearly 29,000 toys, which include yellow ducks, greenfrogs, blue turtles and red beavers, then set sail on a fantasticvoyage that has taken them all the way from the Pacific Ocean to theAtlantic, by way of the Arctic Ocean.

Ingraham explained to me at the time that he and fellow NOAAoceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer had spent more than 20 years trackingassorted flotsam as a way of charting the movements of ocean surfacecurrents worldwide.

They hoped their studies of these "oceanographic blind spots"could help scientists to better predict severe weather such ashurricanes, floods and droughts, as well as provide valuable data tocommercial fishermen about the migratory patterns of fish stocks.

Their Ocean Surface Current Simulator was originally developed in1991, in fact, to track the path of some 30,000 pairs of Nikesneakers that had fallen from a ship in the mid-Pacific Ocean. Theoceanographers, who clearly know how to inject whimsy into theirwork, are also monitoring the global drift of 34,000 hockey glovesand millions of floating Legos.

Whenever one of the tub toys is found, the men plug the findinginto the simulator program to map where the fleet has been and todetermine where it might be heading.

Their simulator worked well enough to predict the arrival ofrubber duckies on the Alaska coast not long after they went into thedrink. The computer model also was able to forecast duck landings onthe shores of Washington state, and the toys also have washed up inHawaii and the Queen Charlotte Islands off Canada.

A man once claimed to have found an intrepid little frog in theHebrides Islands, off Scotland, but didn't keep it because he didn'tknow it was one of the famous tub-toy fleet.

The same thing happened in Kennebunkport a few years back, when awoman who had read about the unique oceanographic project reportedhaving found a duck that matched the description of those in themenagerie.

She was even able to confirm that the toy she discovered on thebeach was embossed with the manufacturer's name, First Years Inc.,which promises a $100 savings bond to anyone who recovers one of thelittle worldly wanderers.

Unfortunately for the Maine woman, however, she didn't keep herduck either and wasn't able to cash in.

So if you happen to be strolling a Maine beach this summer,remember that there are a couple of West Coast oceanographers whowould very much like you to stay alert for washed-up bath toys. Thereare still thousands of them out there on the high seas, after all,and one of them might just be bobbing its way to a section of thecoastline near you.

As a delighted Ebbesmeyer remarked to the Times of London afterthe latest frog find, "Who would have thought it: Bath-time crittershave given us a new science."

Floating toys aiding scientists

I was pleased to learn that the little frog had finally madelandfall after almost 15 years at sea, even if the critter might havegone off course a bit during its epic journey.

The Times of London reported recently that the green plastic frog,a member of a legendary fleet of bath toys washed overboard in thePacific Ocean and hunted by scientists ever since, was spotted on theshore of a Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides.

It's the first confirmed case of one of the toys having reachedEurope, culminating a 10,000-mile trip that is helping scientistschart the movements of tides and currents across the globe.

You might recall reading about this little band of tub toys, whichI wrote about a few years ago after being informed by one of theoceanographers who was tracking its movement that we in Maine shouldkeep our eyes out for the little guys.

"They could be anywhere along the coast of Maine," said JamesIngraham, who works with the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration's National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle. "Ifanyone finds one, we'd love to hear about it. We need the reports."

The saga of the world's most sought-after tub toys began in 1992,when a violent storm tossed 20 containers of the smiley-faced plasticanimals off the back of a cargo ship, halfway between Seattle andChina. The nearly 29,000 toys, which include yellow ducks, greenfrogs, blue turtles and red beavers, then set sail on a fantasticvoyage that has taken them all the way from the Pacific Ocean to theAtlantic, by way of the Arctic Ocean.

Ingraham explained to me at the time that he and fellow NOAAoceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer had spent more than 20 years trackingassorted flotsam as a way of charting the movements of ocean surfacecurrents worldwide.

They hoped their studies of these "oceanographic blind spots"could help scientists to better predict severe weather such ashurricanes, floods and droughts, as well as provide valuable data tocommercial fishermen about the migratory patterns of fish stocks.

Their Ocean Surface Current Simulator was originally developed in1991, in fact, to track the path of some 30,000 pairs of Nikesneakers that had fallen from a ship in the mid-Pacific Ocean. Theoceanographers, who clearly know how to inject whimsy into theirwork, are also monitoring the global drift of 34,000 hockey glovesand millions of floating Legos.

Whenever one of the tub toys is found, the men plug the findinginto the simulator program to map where the fleet has been and todetermine where it might be heading.

Their simulator worked well enough to predict the arrival ofrubber duckies on the Alaska coast not long after they went into thedrink. The computer model also was able to forecast duck landings onthe shores of Washington state, and the toys also have washed up inHawaii and the Queen Charlotte Islands off Canada.

A man once claimed to have found an intrepid little frog in theHebrides Islands, off Scotland, but didn't keep it because he didn'tknow it was one of the famous tub-toy fleet.

The same thing happened in Kennebunkport a few years back, when awoman who had read about the unique oceanographic project reportedhaving found a duck that matched the description of those in themenagerie.

She was even able to confirm that the toy she discovered on thebeach was embossed with the manufacturer's name, First Years Inc.,which promises a $100 savings bond to anyone who recovers one of thelittle worldly wanderers.

Unfortunately for the Maine woman, however, she didn't keep herduck either and wasn't able to cash in.

So if you happen to be strolling a Maine beach this summer,remember that there are a couple of West Coast oceanographers whowould very much like you to stay alert for washed-up bath toys. Thereare still thousands of them out there on the high seas, after all,and one of them might just be bobbing its way to a section of thecoastline near you.

As a delighted Ebbesmeyer remarked to the Times of London afterthe latest frog find, "Who would have thought it: Bath-time crittershave given us a new science."

Floating toys aiding scientists

I was pleased to learn that the little frog had finally madelandfall after almost 15 years at sea, even if the critter might havegone off course a bit during its epic journey.

The Times of London reported recently that the green plastic frog,a member of a legendary fleet of bath toys washed overboard in thePacific Ocean and hunted by scientists ever since, was spotted on theshore of a Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides.

It's the first confirmed case of one of the toys having reachedEurope, culminating a 10,000-mile trip that is helping scientistschart the movements of tides and currents across the globe.

You might recall reading about this little band of tub toys, whichI wrote about a few years ago after being informed by one of theoceanographers who was tracking its movement that we in Maine shouldkeep our eyes out for the little guys.

"They could be anywhere along the coast of Maine," said JamesIngraham, who works with the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration's National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle. "Ifanyone finds one, we'd love to hear about it. We need the reports."

The saga of the world's most sought-after tub toys began in 1992,when a violent storm tossed 20 containers of the smiley-faced plasticanimals off the back of a cargo ship, halfway between Seattle andChina. The nearly 29,000 toys, which include yellow ducks, greenfrogs, blue turtles and red beavers, then set sail on a fantasticvoyage that has taken them all the way from the Pacific Ocean to theAtlantic, by way of the Arctic Ocean.

Ingraham explained to me at the time that he and fellow NOAAoceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer had spent more than 20 years trackingassorted flotsam as a way of charting the movements of ocean surfacecurrents worldwide.

They hoped their studies of these "oceanographic blind spots"could help scientists to better predict severe weather such ashurricanes, floods and droughts, as well as provide valuable data tocommercial fishermen about the migratory patterns of fish stocks.

Their Ocean Surface Current Simulator was originally developed in1991, in fact, to track the path of some 30,000 pairs of Nikesneakers that had fallen from a ship in the mid-Pacific Ocean. Theoceanographers, who clearly know how to inject whimsy into theirwork, are also monitoring the global drift of 34,000 hockey glovesand millions of floating Legos.

Whenever one of the tub toys is found, the men plug the findinginto the simulator program to map where the fleet has been and todetermine where it might be heading.

Their simulator worked well enough to predict the arrival ofrubber duckies on the Alaska coast not long after they went into thedrink. The computer model also was able to forecast duck landings onthe shores of Washington state, and the toys also have washed up inHawaii and the Queen Charlotte Islands off Canada.

A man once claimed to have found an intrepid little frog in theHebrides Islands, off Scotland, but didn't keep it because he didn'tknow it was one of the famous tub-toy fleet.

The same thing happened in Kennebunkport a few years back, when awoman who had read about the unique oceanographic project reportedhaving found a duck that matched the description of those in themenagerie.

She was even able to confirm that the toy she discovered on thebeach was embossed with the manufacturer's name, First Years Inc.,which promises a $100 savings bond to anyone who recovers one of thelittle worldly wanderers.

Unfortunately for the Maine woman, however, she didn't keep herduck either and wasn't able to cash in.

So if you happen to be strolling a Maine beach this summer,remember that there are a couple of West Coast oceanographers whowould very much like you to stay alert for washed-up bath toys. Thereare still thousands of them out there on the high seas, after all,and one of them might just be bobbing its way to a section of thecoastline near you.

As a delighted Ebbesmeyer remarked to the Times of London afterthe latest frog find, "Who would have thought it: Bath-time crittershave given us a new science."