MEMPHIS (PEABODY HOTEL)

Memphis, Tennessee, is home to the Peabody Hotel, a posh hotel with an elegant and luxurious lobby, complete with an ornate fountain. Such a fine hotel would be a destination on its own, but with the help of five adorable hotel residents, the Peabody Hotel is known for one other quirky distinction…ducks! Twice a day…precisely at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m….the famous Peabody ducks walk the red carpet to the hotel fountain to take a swim and delight the hotel guests. This charming tradition has its origins in a drunken prank. 

Frank Schutt, the general manager of the Peabody Hotel, and his drinking buddy, Chip Barwick, took a weekend duck hunting trip in the 1930s. It seems the two friends spent more time drinking than they did hunting because when they returned to Memphis, the only ducks in their possession were the three live ducks they used for decoys on their hunting trip. Back then, it was totally legal to use live ducks as decoys. Still drunk and exuding sophomoric humor, the two buddies thought it would be hilarious to put the three ducks in the hotel’s fancy fountain. The guests were thrilled. They loved to watch the happy ducks frolicking in the water. A tradition was born.  

The Peabody Duck March