I want to be transparent about the circumstances under which I bought the giant rubber duck. It was a Wednesday. I had been in back-to-back meetings since 8am. My lunch had been a cereal bar eaten while reading emails. I had a headache that had been building since approximately 10:30 and showed no signs of resolving. I was, in the technical sense, Having A Day.
I was scrolling through my phone at 6pm, waiting for the kettle to boil, when I found the Giant Rubber Duck Bath Toy. I looked at it for about fifteen seconds. I added it to my basket. I bought it before the kettle had finished boiling.
I do not regret this. I want to be very clear about that upfront. I do not regret this at all.
Why a Giant Rubber Duck
I have been thinking about this question since the duck arrived, because several people have asked it and I want to have a good answer. The honest answer is: because it made me laugh immediately, and I needed to laugh, and sometimes that's enough.
The slightly more considered answer is that there is something about an oversized version of a familiar object that is inherently, reliably funny. A rubber duck is already a cheerful object. A rubber duck that is dramatically, absurdly larger than it has any right to be is something else entirely. It is a statement. It is a commitment to joy. It is the kind of thing that sits in your bathroom and makes you smile every single time you see it, which is more than can be said for most bathroom accessories.
I also, if I'm honest, wanted something that would make my flat feel less serious. I work from home. My flat is my office. It had started to feel like a place where work happened rather than a place where I lived, and I needed something to push back against that. A giant rubber duck, it turns out, is very effective at making a space feel like somewhere a person lives rather than somewhere a person works.
When It Arrived
It arrived two days after I ordered it. I opened the box in my hallway and immediately started laughing, which is the correct response to opening a box and finding a duck that is significantly larger than you expected even though you knew it was going to be large. There is something about the physical reality of it that photographs don't quite prepare you for.
I carried it to the bathroom and placed it in the bath. I stepped back and looked at it. It looked back at me with the serene, untroubled expression of a duck that has absolutely no concerns whatsoever. I felt, immediately and unreasonably, better about everything.
I texted a photo to my flatmate, who was at work. He replied: "what" and then, thirty seconds later, "I love it." He has since named the duck Gerald. I did not name the duck Gerald but I have accepted Gerald as the duck's name because my flatmate feels strongly about it and it does suit him.
Gerald's Effect on Daily Life
I want to document this properly because I think it's genuinely interesting. Gerald has had a measurable positive effect on my daily life, and I say this as someone who was not expecting to write that sentence when I bought a giant rubber duck on a Wednesday evening during a bad week.
First: I take more baths. Before Gerald, I was a shower person almost exclusively. Since Gerald arrived, I have been taking baths two or three times a week, because the bath is now a more appealing place to be. Gerald is there. Gerald is serene. The bath is, with Gerald in it, a genuinely pleasant environment.
Second: my bathroom has become a conversation piece. Everyone who comes to my flat goes to the bathroom at some point, and everyone who goes to the bathroom comes back with a question about the duck. This has led to more conversations than I can count, all of them good. Gerald is a social asset.
Third: I am in a better mood on the days I see Gerald first thing in the morning. This is not scientifically rigorous but it is consistently true. There is something about starting the day with an object that is purely, uncomplicatedly cheerful that sets a different tone for the hours that follow. Gerald does not have bad days. Gerald does not have meetings. Gerald simply exists, large and yellow and entirely at peace, and that is a useful thing to be reminded of.
The Practical Details
The duck is well-made — the vinyl is solid and has held up without any deterioration over the months since it arrived. It floats properly, which matters more than you'd think. It is easy to clean. It is, despite its size, not actually difficult to store when the bath is in use for its primary purpose. Gerald has adapted to flat life with remarkable ease.
My Verdict
Buy the giant rubber duck. I cannot give you a sophisticated reason. I can only tell you that it will make you laugh when it arrives, it will make you smile every time you see it, and it will make your bathroom a better place to be. The Giant Rubber Duck Bath Toy is available in our Toys collection and our wider Toys & Games collection.
Name him Gerald. It suits him.
— Tom Ashby
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