The Yellow Duck Effect

We're on day 6 of an 8-day cruise through the Caribbean, and we've managed to wander into a previously undiscovered part of the ship. It's a small arcade where we pass the time by playing a handful of games.

As we are leaving, I notice a claw machine in the corner filled with rubber duckies. Unlike most claw machines, this one is designed so everyone is a winner. You scan your key card to deduct a dollar from your account and get as many attempts as you need to pull out a duck.

M and P went first, each pulling out souvenir duckies. Before I started my turn, I made a pronouncement: given the variety of ducks in the machine, my goal was to make sure I didn't pull out a plain yellow duck. A ninja, baseball, or two-toned duck would all be fine. Just not the vanilla version.

Given the variety of ducks in the machine, this wasn't a hard ask.

I scanned my stateroom card, and the machine came to life. As I tried to position the claw to pick up an interesting specimen, my turn timed out and the claw dropped. You guessed it; it snagged a yellow duck.

I found myself annoyed: how could I snag defeat from the jaws of victory? The game was rigged in my favor, and yet I'd lost. I briefly thought about going back for another, but that seemed wrong; the universe had spoken. I left the arcade (very) mildly annoyed. Thankfully, on a cruise there's always cake around to take my mind off such matters.

The next day, I had a realization: maybe the yellow duck's lack of pizzazz was a feature. Unlike many colored ducks, the basic yellow could serve as a canvas for a Sharpie. In short, a yellow duck was perfect for adding my own customizations. Now I was excited!

Chilling in the observation lounge, I polled our group on what phrases I could add to my previously unloved mallard. They needed to be terse enough to fit, yet meaningful enough to capture our adventure.

After narrowing down the list, we arrived at the following:

Oh, how I love my little yellow ducky; I wouldn't trade it for the most exotic of faux creatures.

I've tried to take this experience to heart. When I get exactly the outcome I was avoiding, I try to delay my dissatisfaction. Give it time; perhaps I've pulled a Yellow Duck.

You might be thinking: wait, that's just looking on the bright side. Not quite. There's nothing active about the Yellow Duck Effect. You don't do anything. You just suspend disappointment and wait. The universe will take care of the rest.