On January 4, 1910, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on a wildly tragic incident that had occurred in Des Moines, Iowa.

The strangest accident recorded in local history occurred here when Rhadamanthus, a duck which had taken prizes at the recent Iowa poultry show, exploded into several hundred pieces, one of which struck Silas Perkins in the eye, destroying his sight.

The cause of Rhadamanthus' untimely explosion was a pan of yeast. This, standing upon Perkins' back porch, tempted the duck, which gobbled it all up. Upon returning from church, Mr. Perkins discovered his prize duck in a loggy condition. Tell-tale marks around the pan of yeast gave him a clew [sic] to the trouble.

He was about to pick up the bird when it exploded with a loud report, and Perkins ran into the house, holding both hands over one eye. A surgeon was called, and it was found that the eyeball had been penetrated by a fragment of flying duck. He gave no hope that the sight could be saved.

The Washington Post also reported on the incident several months earlier, noting that "A stiff northerly gale was blowing at the time and give dark brown duck feathers were wafted so far as Great Notch and fluttered into the open window of the smoker of that admirable Erie Railroad train." The Post also has a bit more detail on the late Rhadamanthus, who, they note, "was no ordinary or ornery duck." Rhadamanthus's grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, was also renowned for this fortune-telling prowess. Read the rest

This seems like some impressive trolley problem decision-making.

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The moment when the collective decision is made; you're about to see one of those, but for people. Read the rest

Now *that* takes some real ducking talent. Read the rest

A rare and beautiful Mandarin duck, native to East Asia, has turned up in New York City's Central Park. The bird spends most of its time entertaining curious on-lookers in a pond near 59th Street and Fifth Avenue. City official plan to leave the duck alone so long as it's safe. From CBS News:

(Bird enthusiast Dave) Barrett said he's checked with every zoo in the city and none are missing a duck. It leads the bird-watching community to believe it was a domestic pet, which is illegal in New York City.

"It might have got away or someone might have got tired of it and dumped it," Barrett said.

It also may have flown to Manhattan from a neighboring town.

The world’s being overrun by fascists and feckless fools, both consecutively and concurrently. You deserve a break from the stress they’ve been causing.

So, here’s footage of every frigging duck who ever waddled or quacked making their way, on foot, to an emergency meeting of the waterfowl Illuminati.

It’s OK. You deserve it. Read the rest

Whenever you want to befuddle someone by answering a question with another question that sounds like it might be a figure of speech, you won't do much better than shrugging and saying, "well, how quickly can a duck eat peas?" Read the rest

Not all is wrong with the world. If you don't have 40 seconds to spare, jump straight to the best bit. Read the rest

In this video, ducks hungrily devour peas, then human fingers, offering the viewer a sense of "what it feels like to be attacked by hungry ducks." Read the rest

Three energetic ducklings standing on top of a capybara who is just trying to take a bath. Read the rest

This quacked me up.

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The Canal & River Trust painted the markings on towpaths in London, and other large cities, to remind us we share the space with nature: "It just wouldn’t be possible to paint lanes on the towpath for all our different visitors," an organizer told Quartz, "so we thought the ducks could have one instead." Read the rest

The giggling child makes it even cuter.

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2:46 of the tables turned—or, perhaps, unrequited love. [via] Read the rest

Peregrine falcons specialize in eating other birds. Sometimes they even prey on birds larger than themselves. With dive speeds of over 200 mph, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience to get hit by one of these aerial predators, and the pintail ducks in the video seem to agree. [Video Link] Read the rest

Surrounded by a vast sea of duck, this motorist and his passenger are left with no option but to incredulously film the invasion. Watch and fear, mangy simian, your time is up! Read the rest

An enormous inflatable duck floats on the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh on Sept 27, 2013. Created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, the 40 ft duck kicked off the Pittsburgh Arts Festival and will spend its first evening under the 6th street bridge. Last seen deflated in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor, the latest duck sibling will be moored at Point State Park for three weeks. Photo: Heather Beschizza Read the rest