Giant Rubber Duckie, we were awfully fond of you
A giant, inflatable “Rubber Duck” designed by Dutch conceptual artist Florentijn Hofman is uninstalled at the Summer Palace on October 27, 2013 in Beijing, China.
There's a little bit less joy in the world today.
A giant yellow duck, part of Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman's exhibit called "Spreading Joy Around the World," finally met its end after an earthquake struck Taiwan on Thursday.
The nearly 60-foot duck began to deflate after a power outage caused by the 6.3-magnitude earthquake. When organizers tried to re-inflate it, however, tragedy struck: "Powerful winds caused the duck's rear end to burst… rendering it a flattened yellow disc floating on a pond."
Sure, officials plan to borrow another duck designed by Hofman, but will it ever be the same?
(Okay, so we might be a bit distraught… there are actually several ducks designed by Hofman, bobbing around merrily in different cities.)
The original Giant Yellow Duck, which measures 54 feet, has visited nine countries on its joyful tour around the world.
We couldn't think of a better tribute than Ernie's ode to rubber duckie on Sesame Street:
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