Snow ducks on campus: Meet the Calgarian building them
If you’ve visited the University of Calgary over the past few days, chances are you’ve seen some cute new faces pop up around campus.
Since the massive snow dump last week, students across departments have been delighted to find thousands of small “snow ducks” appearing at various spots around the university. From the Math Sciences to the Arts building and everything in between, virtually every corner of campus has been graced by their adorable presence at some point this week.
Daily Hive met up with the guy behind them and discovered the incredible light-hearted mission that started a snowy revolution.
Emma Kilburn-Smith/Daily Hive
Emma Kilburn-Smith/Daily Hive
“It’s winter, and there’s that seasonal depression, so some of my classmates were sort of feeling down, and one of my friends specifically was going through a little bit of a tough time, and then I bought these [duck snowball makers].”
Jason Ngu is a third-year computer science major at the U of C and tells us the desire to make his friends and classmates smile sparked his quirky idea.
“I was kind of bored, so I brought the snow ducks and was like, ‘Hey dude, do you want to make some snow ducks in our spare time?’ So we went outside of the math sciences buildings and clamped about 30 of them out in 10 minutes and had some laughs; it was a fun time.”
People around campus soon took notice, and it wasn’t just the stressed-out (and cold) students.
“One of my old professors brought up the snow ducks in lectures. He was like, ‘So guys, I saw these snow ducks outside of the math’s sciences building; they’re all over the place. It’s weird — you should see them.”
Since then, Ngu says he has been approached dozens of times a day while in the middle of making his snow ducks by both people who want to take them home and others who just want to meet the “duck guy” in person.Â
Emma Kilburn-Smith/Daily Hive
Emma Kilburn-Smith/Daily Hive
Emma Kilburn-Smith/Daily Hive
While Ngu was on one of his many adventures, one student stopped him and excitedly yelled: “Oh my God, are you the duck guy? I took one home and saved it in my freezer!”
Ngu wants the idea (and the joy) to spread. He carries multiple mold makers with him for anyone who wants to try them and has even picked up new shapes, including snowflakes, snowmen, and bears.
He said he saw other students trying to join in the fun with their own mold makers and has noticed them sometimes struggling for the perfect shape and is happy to give them all of his secret tips. If you’d like to try them for yourself, you can find them on Amazon here.
The ducks have made quite the mark, being featured on dozens of Reddit threads and TikTok videos. One person says the ducks are giving them the “will to live,” and others express their desire to find one in person.Â
Emma Kilburn-Smith/Daily Hive
Ngu says he plans to continue making as many ducks as possible.
“Each duck that is made is the creation from thin air — of, like, joy and happiness that didn’t exist before. If I make an army of ducks, that’s a lot of joy.”