You may have heard of the “Jeep Wave”, but now a new trend has Jeep owners across the country quacking up. Duck Duck Jeep, where Jeep Wrangler owners go around “ducking” other Jeep Wrangler owners by taking a rubber duckie and placing it on the Jeep’s door handle, hood, or tire, with a colorful note. It’s designed to bring some joy to a fellow Jeep owner’s day.
The Jeeper that has been ducked then posts a picture of the ducking on Facebook and/or Instagram via designated pages.
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How did Jeep Ducking Start?
Allison Parliament didn’t set out to become an internationally known Jeep celebrity. But that’s exactly what happened after a terrible road trip from the southern United States to her native Canada. A dual citizen of both Canada and the United States, Allison decided to travel from her home in Clanton, Alabama to visit family and friends in Ontario last June.
She never expected the welcome she got when she stopped for gas in a small Canadian town. As she was getting ready to fuel her pride and joy, a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Sahara she’d just bought, she suddenly found herself in the middle of an angry encounter.
“A guy approached, told me I was a dirty American spreading Covid and just wanted to hurt people,” Allison said. The man even shoved her into her Jeep. “It scared the crap out of me.”
Allison quickly decided to get gas elsewhere and left town as fast as she could. She called a friend. “Is this what it’s gonna be like all the way home?” Arriving at her destination, she found herself so upset, she didn’t even want to leave the house. But her friend eventually convinced her to keep going, heading farther north to her family’s home. For a parting gift to her supportive friend, she popped into a local shop and bought a bag of rubber ducks to hide around his house as a joke before she left.
That seemingly random sequence of events led directly to a worldwide cultural phenomenon that shows no signs of slowing down. As Allison left the store, she noticed a Jeep in the parking lot. On a lark, Parliament wrote “nice jeep” on one of the ducks, and ducked the Jeep: the very first Jeep ducking.
The fellow Jeeper saw Parliament putting the duck on his Jeep Wrangler and thought it was the best thing ever. Parliament posted about the incident on Instagram later that day, then created a Facebook page a few days after that. From there, her story went viral. The Facebook page quickly grew into the group Official Ducking Jeeps Est 2020, with an official website following soon after.
We Got Ducked
March 10, 2021, was the first time we got ducked. We came out of a Navy Federal Credit Union near Phoenix, Arizona to find a little blue duck tucked into the driver’s side door handle. It was the first time we learned of being ducked. Ducking works because we got a good chuckle out of it and it did bring a bit of joy to our day.
Since our first Ducking, we’ve been ducked three other times.
How Can I Participate In Duck Duck Jeep?
Jeepers all over have wondered what the rules are for Duck Duck Jeep and they are simple:
- Get a bag of Rubber Ducks.
- Create tags and attach them to ducks or write on them with a sharpie.
- Leave them on Jeeps I prefer leaving them in the door handle but you can leave them on the windshield, bumpers, or mirrors.
- Have fun and don’t be a Jeephole! Everyone has a bad day here and there and a moment of being kind goes a long way.
- Remember even though you may not receive a duck right away, one will find you eventually.
Where We Get Our Ducks In A Row
We’ve purchased ducks off Amazon and it’s a good place to start if you can’t find rubber duckies in your neighborhood.
The best place we’ve found though is The Pretty Duckling at Traders Village in San Antonio, Texas. With over 1000 rubber ducks to choose from, they have the largest selection of Rubber Ducks in Texas!
We made it a stop here when we were staying at Colorado River Thousand Trails in Columbus. It was a couple of hour drive but we also got to take in some other sights around San Antonio.
The owner of The Pretty Duckling, Kim is very friendly, customer-oriented, and loves Jeepers and Duck Duck Jeep.
Lisa has gotten into the Duck Duck Jeep spirit fully. She now has over 100 ducks and tags ready to do some Ducking!
How We Choose What Jeeps to Duck
One of the greatest things about Jeeps is the ability to upgrade, modify or personalize them in so many ways.
It’s very uncommon to see two Jeeps alike. That is unless they are bone stock from the dealer.
So we choose to Duck Jeeps that have been modified/personalized in some way.
They don’t have to be super Jeeps or anything too fancy. But an upgrade here or there will catch our attention.
Conclusion
The “Jeep Wave” is a longstanding tradition of Jeepers waving at one another, usually while driving. Now Ducking is another Jeep tradition that is quickly taking flight!
Are you a Jeeper? Have you been ducked or are you ducking other Jeepers? Thank you for reading our article. If you have any comments or questions we’d love to hear from you below.
