5 Rules Every Jeep Owner Needs To Know About 'Ducking'

Have you ever been having a particularly rough day, and when it's over you want nothing more than to hop in your car, go home, and collapse on the couch? It's in times like these when we could all use a random act of kindness — nothing monumental, just a nice little moment where someone says something nice to you or encourages you while you're down. If you're looking to spread some good moods around yourself, there is a fun and creative way you can do it: Jeep ducking.

Originally conceived back in 2020 by Ontario, Canada resident Allison Parliament, Jeep ducking is the practice of placing small rubber or plastic ducks on the surface of a Jeep-branded vehicle, often with a pleasant message written on them. It's small-scale, unobtrusive, encourages community collaboration, and helps to improve the days of Jeep drivers everywhere. In other words, it's the perfect way to inject some good vibes into what may otherwise be a lousy day. Before you go and buy a bag of ducks to leave everywhere and anywhere, there are a handful of community-curated rules you should be aware of, both to maximize the impact of your ducks and ensure they don't have the opposite of their intended effect.

The entire point of Jeep ducking is that you want the recipient of your duck to know that they've received a duck. If you leave a duck in some weird, obtuse location like the middle of the car's roof, your recipient is probably not going to realize it's there. This will result in them getting in the car, driving off, and leaving the duck on the ground, which kind of just becomes littering at that point.

Place your ducks in clear spaces that the car's owner is guaranteed to see. The front or middle of the hood is probably your best bet, as even if they don't see the duck while they're walking to their car, they should catch a glimpse of it while getting into the driver's seat. You should also refrain from wedging ducks into cramped nooks like the gap between the car and one of the side-mirrors. It's also best to avoid leaving the duck on one of the tires or on the back or front bumper, as there is a good chance the vehicle owner won't see it.

In addition to placing a duck in a visible spot on the recipient's Jeep, you should also leave some kind of message either on the duck itself or in its immediate vicinity with a paper note. There are even ducks available for purchase with ducking message cards pre-attached. Ducking is meant to foster community collaboration — you don't want your recipient to just pick up the duck, say "oh, a duck," and think no more of it. You want them to know that they've been included in a big collaborative effort.

As for what you should write on your duck, the first thing should be a pleasant message. It doesn't need to be anything in-depth or personal (and honestly, writing something in-depth or personal might be a little creepy). You can just write something to the effect of, "this is a really cool Jeep and you should be proud to drive it," or even something as simple as "I hope you have a fantastic week." In addition to your pleasant message, you should also include the online hashtag "#DuckDuckJeep." This will help your recipient to find the online ducking community and get involved themselves if they're interested.

If you happen to be the recipient of a duck yourself, you should take a picture of it and post about it to your favorite social media platform, preferably with the #DuckDuckJeep hashtag. This way, people know it's specifically an act of ducking. After you've appreciated the duck and posted about it, it's up to you what you do with it next. If you don't want to hold onto it, you could recycle it, donate it to a second-hand shop, or even pass it on to another Jeep-owner. Just don't throw it away, there are a lot of rubber and plastic ducks in landfills as it is.

If you like, though, you can also hold onto the ducks you receive. You can leave it above the dashboard or below the rear windshield for a fun little reminder of the time someone gave you a small token of kindness. If you're lucky enough to receive multiple ducks from multiple senders, you can place all of them on your dashboard in a group. This is a practice known as a "duck pond," and it's a fun way to show off all of your favorite ducks for other drivers on the road. If you don't have room in your Jeep, you can also just take the ducks home and place them all on a shelf or table. As long as they're all together, it's still a lively duck pond.

This is less of a rule and more of a preference from the ducking community: If at all possible, try to keep the practice of ducking exclusively to the realm of Jeep-branded vehicles, especially those with the distinctive rugged silhouette like a Jeep Wrangler. While there's nothing harmful or objectionable about leaving ducks on other kinds of cars, the original act of ducking was performed on a Jeep, so all subsequent duckings follow in its footsteps to maintain the theme. Since the hashtag is #DuckDuckJeep, it would be a bit of a head-scratcher to leave a duck on, say, a Hyundai sedan.

If you really want to be a part of the duck movement, but don't live in an area full of Jeeps, the members of the community will offer a bit of wiggle room for similarly rugged vehicles like Ford Broncos or Suzuki Samurais. You might want to leave a little addendum on your duck note just so the recipient isn't confused, such as "I know this isn't a Jeep, but it still looks super cool!"

Above all other rules, the most important thing about the ducking movement is that all ducks must be placed with kind, courteous intent. With great ducks comes great responsibility; a duck must never be placed in a way to deliberately inconvenience or harass a recipient, such as gluing it to the hood of the car or throwing it into an open passenger window. Your duck should not damage the car or violate the owner's privacy, which means you also shouldn't take a picture of any ducks you leave. It's not your car to publicly post about.

Additionally, the message you write on your duck should be polite and pleasant. Refrain from using profanities and inflammatory language –even if you don't think certain words are offensive, you can never know how other people think. For that same reason, you should also refrain from writing any political or ideological messages on your ducks. Again, even if you think it's positive, not everyone may view it the same way. Just say something nice, place your duck in an obvious spot, and leave it at that. Now, if you don't want people putting ducks on your Jeep, here's what to do.