Plastic toys -- frogs, turtles, beavers and ducks -- are swimming in the ocean. Back in 1992, in rough weather, an ocean transport ship sailing from Hong Kong to Tacoma, Washington lost a container over the bow. It broke open, liberating thousands of plastic creatures. They have been swimming all over the globe ever since. Some have made their way down to Australia. Other went through the Bering Strait and through to Greenland, and from there down toward Labrador. Some crossed the Atlantic to visit Scotland while others swam down to Maine, in the U.S.

Curtis Ebbesmeyer has been tracking their progress.

For a recent update, see the Toronto Globe and Mail, July 20, 2007.