The little yellow duck in Keelung has gotten dirty... 60,000 people have seen it: Why hasn’t it taken a bath?

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

The yellow rubber duck arrived in Keelung amid ongoing controversy, and was even described by its creator, Florentijn Hofman, as an “ugly commercial monster.” However, on the second day of the exhibition, over 60,000 visitors still flocked to see the duck, with its popularity remaining unaffected. But upon arrival, visitors noticed that the duck looked “black and dirty,” with dark streaks appearing all over its body. Although the organizers are trying to find ways to clean it, they are also wary of angering Hofman, so they have only responded publicly by saying, “We need to communicate first, and no decision has been made yet.”

▲From the live feed, you can see dark black stripes on the duck’s chest.

The yellow duck became a “dirty duck” due to soot from ships burning diesel and the impact of the northeast monsoon and heavy rain. Keelung Duck event organizer and Keelung City Council Speaker Huang Jing-tai explained that the bottom of the duck is covered with white protective canvas to insulate it from the floating platform, making the inside of the duck brighter and thus reflecting the framework lines, which appear as dark streaks on the exterior.

Huang Jing-tai said this indeed highlights the air quality issue in Keelung, and they are considering cleaning the duck. However, since the duck is as tall as a six-story building and regular boats aren’t tall enough, they are still looking for a suitable vessel for cleaning. But possibly out of fear of angering Hofman again, Huang Jing-tai lightly brushed off questions about cleaning and Christmas lighting by saying, “We need to communicate and discuss with Hofman first.”

Regarding the recent controversies, Huang Jing-tai said he would take full responsibility for any mistakes and would respect the demands of the original creator. He also added that the only officially authorized ones are the 13,000 yellow ducks produced by Mr. Hofman himself.