RantCrush Top 5: June 6, 2017

The artist behind a giant, yellow rubber duck floating through Ontario is claiming that the duck is counterfeit. Ontario is renting the giant duck to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday next month. Ontario’s provincial government will spend $150,000 on the 11-ton, six-story duck. But Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, who created a rubber duck that has been used in other harbors, says it’s not his creation, and therefore is a counterfeit duck.

Another day, another ….duck?! In case you missed it, the government spent $200,000 on an inflatable duck….https://t.co/6V3Td6NSNl pic.twitter.com/8JEw8YHPia

— Victor Fedeli (@VicFedeliMPP) June 1, 2017

This duck is actually even bigger. It’s named “Mama Duck” and was made by Craig Samborski who assisted Hofman with his art installation in 2014. Now Hofman has sent out a press release accusing Samborski of stealing his duck design and charging exorbitant prices for what was initially intended to be a public art installation for everyone to enjoy. “We are living on a planet, we are one family, and the global waters are our bathtub, so it joins people,” Hofman said. However, the co-owner of the bigger yellow duck, Ryan Whaley, says that the design is actually based on the original from a 1930s toy company, so it is now considered public domain.

via GIPHY

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.