In a 2013 interview, Hofman stated that his initial inspiration came from a 2001 museum visit combined with a popular yoghurt advertisement in the Netherlands in 2000 or 2001.

In addition, there is an electric propeller fan in its body so that it can be inflated at any time, in either good or bad weather.

On the bottom of the rubber duck, there is a waterproof cable that gets the energy from a power distribution board near the lake to make the electric propeller fan work.

Since 2007, the ducks have been on display in Amsterdam, Baku, Lommel (Belgium), Osaka, Sydney Harbour, São Paulo, and Hong Kong.

[8][9] Its second United States appearance was in Norfolk, Virginia, from 17 to 26 May 2014, floating in The Hague Inlet in front of the Chrysler Museum of Art.

[18] On 30 September 2017, during its exhibition in Santiago, the duck accidentally crashed into a sign, which tore a hole on its structure and caused it to deflate.

The tour drew some controversy as it was seen by some as a waste of government spending;[20] reports later found that the sculpture generated profits for the events it attended.

[27] On 4 June 2013, China's most popular microblogging website Sina Weibo blocked the term "Big Yellow Duck" to prevent users from posting pictures of the sculpture digitally altered in front of Tank Man, a heavily censored subject in the country.