Dead Duck Day 2024, in public and in private (June 5th)

June 5th is Dead Duck Day, commemorating a 1995 incident that took place outside the Rotterdam Museum of Natural History (“A Dead Serious Museum“) that has inspired people around the world to think about birds, safety, and just how hard they should be laughing about (or with) nature. Dead Duck Day is observed around the world, with occasional additions and subtractions – if you want to mark the day in Rotterdam, Seattle, or where you are, read on.

Why THAT Duck: On June 5th, 1995 a mallard duck collided with a large glass window of Het Natuurhistoisch Museum in Rotterdam. That duck died instantly, a second duck approached, and the scientist on the scene (a bird researcher, and the curator of the Museum) documented what happened next in his research paper, “The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard Anas platyrhynchos (Aves: Anatidae)“.

Rotterdam: Rotterdam will not hold a Dead Duck Day public celebration this year, as founder Kees Moeliker is on a leave of absence. You can still think on the event, what it means, what it meant for the 2 birds involved, for the scientist who observed it, and what it says about the natural world. Perhaps you’ll enjoy a tasty duck dinner while you consider these things.

Seattle: On Wednesday June 5th, 2024, Ig Nobel ceremony co-producer David Kessler will hold an informal Dead Duck Day celebration in Seattle. David has been doing this privately for several years now with a few friends, but this year he is opening the invitation to interested strangers as well – those interested in ducks, in Improbable Research, and entertaining science. He will post a time and location at this link. Attendees will hear excerpts from the research paper that began it all, hear a brief account of how the Ig Nobels heard about it, and how that changed the life of its author. David will then walk to a nearby restaurant for a tasty duck dinner with as many attendees as the restaurant can handle (attendees will share the cost of the dinner).

Where You Are: Here are some resources to help you commemorate the day in your own town:

Read from the research paper that started it allThink about the dangers that glass buildings represent to birds, and what can be done about it (an example, and another example)Enjoy some duck at a restaurant or at home (See Julia Child blow a duck call!)Raise a toast to Kees Moeliker, who wrote that research paper (Watch his TedTalk: “How A Dead Duck Changed My Life“)Think about how amazing and varied the natural world is (many good examples have won an Ig Nobel Prize)Dead Duck Day through the years (on improbable.com)NOTE: Traditionally, the event has been held at 5:55pm in Rotterdam. If 5:55pm doesn’t work for you then choose a different time