Roses Among the Thorns

 

The container ship Ever Laurel left Hong Kong the winter of 1991/1992 on its way to Tacoma, Washington. On January 10, a storm near the international date line washed a dozen 40-foot shipping containers overboard. One of these containers held 29,000 Friendly Floatees bath toys. Because of a collision with the other containers or perhaps with the Ever Laurel itself, it broke open and released its floating cargo. Many of the toys were small yellow rubber ducks, but there were also red beavers, blue turtles, and green frogs. Months later, these tiny travelers began washing up on Alaska’s shores, over 3,270 kilometers (2,030 miles) from where they were lost. Oceanographers tracked the toys’ movements, using them as floating markers to study ocean currents and how objects disperse at sea. Some of these adventurous little toys floated astonishing distances, with reports of them reaching European beaches years later, providing valuable insights into oceanic flow patterns.