A storm caused thousands of bath toys to fall from a ship in 1992, drifting across the Pacific and helping scientists study ocean currents.
Container ship loses bath toys
In January 1992, a storm caused a container ship traveling between Hong Kong and Washington state to lose thousands of bath toys in the northern Pacific Ocean. Twelve containers fell overboard, one of which released 28,800 plastic bath toys, including yellow ducks, red beavers, blue turtles, and green frogs.Toys drift across the Pacific
These toys, known as "Friendly Floatees," were sealed and nearly unsinkable, allowing them to drift across the Pacific for years. Designed for children, they were made to float on water and resist damage from waves and saltwater.First toys reach Alaska
The first of these toys washed up on the shores of Alaska approximately 3,200 kilometers from the point of loss ten months later. This event provided oceanographers with an opportunity to track ocean currents, as the movement of the toys across distant shorelines offered insights into the paths of major currents.Toys aid scientific research
The toys' bright colors made them easy to spot, and their distribution helped scientists understand how ocean currents transport objects across vast distances. Researchers used the locations where the toys were found to map the movement of water and improve models of ocean circulation.
