X-Nico

5 unusual facts about Curtis Ebbesmeyer


Curtis Ebbesmeyer

In May 1990 80,000 Nike sneakers were released from a container washed off the ship Hansa Carrier.

Flow tracer

When 28,000 Friendly Floatees plastic ducks and other toys were washed overboard from a container ship in the Pacific Ocean in 1992, oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer used them for the calibration and verification of ocean current models.

Friendly Floatees

--where did "Friendly" come from? original package just says "Floatees"-->are plastic bath toys marketed by The First Years, Inc. and made famous by the work of Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer who models ocean currents on the basis of flotsam movements including those of a consignment of Friendly Floatees, containing 29,000 plastic yellow ducks, red beavers, blue turtles and green frogs, washed into the Pacific Ocean in 1992.

Great Pacific garbage patch

Moore alerted the oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, who subsequently dubbed the region the "Eastern Garbage Patch" (EGP).

Hansa Carrier

After hearing of the accident, oceanic scientist Curtis Ebbesmeyer seized the opportunity: He established links with beachcombers and formed a network of people reporting the landfall of the contents of this and other spills.



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