Mental Floss

Winners of This Small Town's Silly Rubber Duck Race Are Awarded a Serious Prize

By Kirstin Fawcett

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Think you’re a lucky duck? On Saturday, May 7, you can put your good fortune to the test by competing in the annual “Ducky Wucky River Race” in Harvard, Massachusetts. The town’s contest may sound silly, but it offers the winner a serious prize: an all-expenses paid trip for two to anywhere in the world, complete with a fancy meal, the Boston Globe reports.

Each year, the Ayer Rotary Club—a philanthropic organization serving the Massachusetts communities of Ayer, Harvard, Shirley, and Devens—uses a construction vehicle to dump thousands of numbered ducks into the nearby Nashua River. The rubber birds float downstream along a lengthy course, and cross a finish line. In turn, people who purchase a single duck for $5.50, five for $21, or 13 for $42 are given tickets with numbers that corresponds to one of the toys.

If your duck wins the race, you and a loved one are treated to the vacation of a lifetime, complete with free airfare, a two-night stay at a hotel, and a feast. (Sadly, alcohol is no longer included, after a past winner reportedly spent too much money on French wine.)

“People have gone to some pretty amazing places. It really captures the imagination,” Jason Kauppi, a member of the Ayer Rotary Club, told the Boston Globe. Last year’s winner went to Venice; others have reportedly traveled to Paris, Tokyo, Dublin, Australia, Indonesia, and South Africa. Funds from the event are also donated to charity, or used for school books and scholarships.

Harvard residents have tried their luck with the “Ducky Wucky River Race” for more than 20 years. The event is part of the town’s annual Apple Blossom Festival, a day-long spring celebration with street vendors, food, and entertainment.

Interested in seeing if your good fortune is all it's quacked up to be? This year's Ducky Wucky River Race will be held a Still River Depot Road, Harvard, on May 7, at 4 p.m. Participants can purchase ducks online. Visit the event’s website for official contest rules—and make sure to check out some of the fantastic runner-up prizes donated by local organizations.

[h/t The Boston Globe]

Banner image courtesy of iStock.