Hi Tweets,

Darrel Whipple writes:

>Gleaned from a collection of assorted trivia: "A duck's quack doesn't echo,
>and no one knows why."
>
>Anyone heard of this Ripley-type "fact" before? Any research to confirm it?

Two reasons off the top of the head: firstly, most ducks are heard in
sufficiently unconfining places as to produce neither echo nor reverb.
Second, a duck's quack (is this limited to Anas-genus ducks?) isn't loud
enough to carry far, let alone bounce off something with enough energy to
return to the listener.

If they called loud enough where there were walls (i.e., forest edge, canyon
side) off which to bounce the sound, they'd echo like anyone else, betcha.

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)