who says scientists don't have a sense of humor?

An article in today's New York Times features the issue of glacial melt in Greenland. Snowmelt drains into natural "pipes" which they call moulins (who knows why?), and glaciologists are trying to map this plumbing system with a specially-designed camera. As I read the article at the bus stop, I laughed out loud at this:

Alberto Behar, a NASA engineer who designed the camera, said some unconventional methods were being considered to chart the flow of such water. “We had ideas to send rubber ducks down and see if they pop out in the ocean,” he said. “They’d have a little note saying, ‘Please call this number if you find me.’”

Part of me really wishes that they had tried that first.