Rubber Duckie Is Now A Hall Of Famer

Since we've been in a childlike mood all week, I'm happy to report more good child type news: The venerable rubber duck has been inducted into the National Toy Hall Of Fame.  

Ernie from Sesame Street celebrates the
induction of the Rubber Duck into
the National Toy Hall of Fame.  

Every year, the Hall of Fame honors toys and games that have become an important part of American culture.

The oh-so-serious game of chess was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame this year, too, but I'm fixated on the more frivolous rubber duck

(By the way, if you're really into toys, here, in alphabetical order, is all the items in the Toy Hall of Fame. )  

The National Toy Hall of Fame said the rubber duckie first made an appearance in the United States soon after Charles Goodyear's rubber innovations came to the fore.

By the 1940s, rubber ducks had become a regular visitor and childrens' bathtime. Then Ernie, from Sesame Street, came up with a happy little ditty about how he was awfully fond of his rubber duckie, and the rest is history.

Raise your hands: How many of you had a nice squeaky rubber duck when they were kids? How many of you still have one?

Here's Ernie doing his classic ode to the rubber duckie to get your Friday off on the right foot: