Rob Stoneduck

Rob Stoneduck, January 2014

Rob Stoneduck is the official URY mascot - and has been since he first appeared in the station in early 2012.

Acquisition

One Red Paperclip[1] is the story of a man who traded a red paperclip until he had up-traded all the way to a house. It's an exciting adventure that has expired many people. Not to be left out, in 2012 the RAG team wanted in too - they started with a red paperclip and wanted something that at the end they could sell and give the earnings to charity.

So, on a winter's morning, during an episode of what is suspected to be an unscheduled, unplanned episode of No Show Scheduled[2] (during that time it was broadcast at 1am), two lovely RAG representatives appeared at the station door, explained the situation, then asked what we would trade for two toy ducks. After some digging around, we offered them a pair of cool-looking sunglasses that had been lying abandoned on a shelf for some time. This makes Rob's birthday most likely to be between 30th January and 5th February 2012.

After discovering the fluffier duck could quack when we squeak it, he quickly became popular on many of URY's shows, and was dubbed "Rob Stoneduck", after the then-station manager of the same name[3].

The other duck has not been seen since.

The Student Politics Phase

Rob Stoneduck briefly went on a road trip to outside YourSpace one day, as part of Refreshers' Fair 2013. As part of the "Where was Stoneduck?" game that featured on what had now become URY Lunch with Lloyd and Andy[4], Rob briefly ventured into the YUSU Sabbatical Office. Kallum Taylor was then a guest on the show, who needed to guess where Stoneduck was. After guessing correctly, Rob Stoneduck enjoyed his time so much, he left with Kallum to learn more about what goes on within YUSU.

Rob Stoneduck was rescued by Lloyd Wallis a week later, notable shaken up and with a collar and a bell around his neck. Rob does not speak about what happened whilst he was there, but Bob Hughes informs us that there was a lot of "getting thrown around".

Recent History

Due to the realisation that most new URY freshers never actually get told who Rob Stoneduck is, the Computing team attached a label with the duck's name on it to Rob one night in September 2016. Whether it remains is a mystery.

Rob Stoneduck in Popular Culture

This area is in need of expansion. Have you seen or heard some of Rob Stoneduck's antics?

• Rob Stoneduck was a key point in a game called "Where was Stoneduck?" in URY Lunch with Lloyd and Andy. Each week, we'd send him out to somewhere on campus, ask where he was, and he would quack in response. Curious looks were often garnered from others, particularly when he started quacking in Costcutter. Guests or listeners would then need to guess where he was based on ambient noise (only presenters can speak duck, so his answer to "Where are you today?" was lost in translation for all but the instigators).
• Rob Stoneduck featured on the intro interstitial for the 2012 Christmas Single