What the Duck? Rubber Birds Left On Jeeps Baffle the Nation

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Few drivers are as tribal as Jeep drivers. When they pass each other on the road, Jeep code requires them to wave. It is called…the Jeep wave. Lately, some Jeep people have taken to leaving rubber ducks on the door handles of other Jeeps. Hashtags on social media such as #duckduckjeep or #jeepducking have more than 30 million views, and a ducking Facebook group boasts more than 75,000 members. At the Detroit Auto Show in September, Jeep dealers erected a 60-foot-tall rubber duck near the exhibit hall.

Allison Parliament, who bought a Jeep Wrangler in June 2020, says she accidentally invented “Jeep ducking” during the pandemic as a way to boost peoples’ spirits, including her own. While on a road trip, she stopped at a discount store, spotted rubber-duck bath toys, and decided to buy a few to scatter around her partner’s apartment. As she left, another Jeep caught her eye, one that was tricked-out with aftermarket rims, heavy steel bumpers and a Hi-Lift jack.

She took out a duck, wrote “Have a great day” on it, and handed it to the Jeep owner. He laughed and told her to put a picture of that on the internet, so she did.

Some have turned ducking into a game by involving kids and neighbors or by matching the duck’s color to a given Jeep’s paint job. For many Jeep owners—or “Jeepers,” as some say—the duck ritual is a Jeep-world privilege, along with the meetups, off-road rallies, beach events and made-for-Jeep accessories. But there is debate about which Jeep models are considered duck-worthy. And there are never-duckers who find the little gifts wasteful.

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