# Ever Wonder Why There's A Duck In Code Combat's Error Messages?

**URL:** <https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471>\
**Category:** Scribe\
**Created:** [April 16, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471 "2018-04-16T13:44:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MunkeyShynes](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.codecombat.com/munkeyshynes/32/9277_2.png) [@MunkeyShynes](https://discourse.codecombat.com/u/MunkeyShynes)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471/1 "2018-04-16T13:44:24Z")

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It was a mystery to me but I wonder no more.

 ![RubberDuckDebugging2](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/codecombat/original/2X/b/b8d421958c12738dcf7161ddea1e6f7e31b3fac6.jpg)

> **[Rubber duck debugging](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging)**
>
> In software engineering, rubber duck debugging (or rubberducking) is a method of debugging code by articulating a problem in spoken or written natural language. The name is a reference to a story in the book The Pragmatic Programmer in which a programmer would carry around a rubber duck and debug their code by forcing themselves to explain it, line by line, to the duck. Many other terms exist for this technique, often involving different (usually) inanimate objects, or pets such as a dog or a

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**Author:** ![xython](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.codecombat.com/xython/32/7269_2.png) [@xython](https://discourse.codecombat.com/u/xython)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471/2 "2018-04-16T16:03:33Z")

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I think this check spelling dictation trick can help in some debugging occasions ( counting braces?):  
“Check spelling by reading backwards. It’s easy to overlook misspellings when we’re in a hurry. One way to slow ourselves down is to read the words from last to first. This takes words out of their context and forces the mind to focus on each one."

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**Author:** ![Seojin\_Roy\_Lee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.codecombat.com/seojin_roy_lee/32/23539_2.png) [@Seojin\_Roy\_Lee](https://discourse.codecombat.com/u/Seojin_Roy_Lee)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471/3 "2018-04-16T23:01:59Z")

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I was going to make a topic about this but it was already made 9 hours ago so yeah

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**Author:** ![Gamestack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/76d3ee/32.png) [@Gamestack](https://discourse.codecombat.com/u/Gamestack)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471/4 "2018-04-17T01:02:13Z")

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The duck that started it all  
 ![46%20PM](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/codecombat/original/2X/3/3996ca8f29550d020fdc64e99da1489f16e73a81.png)

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**Author:** ![Deadpool198](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.codecombat.com/deadpool198/32/16753_2.png) [@Deadpool198](https://discourse.codecombat.com/u/Deadpool198)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 8:57am UTC](https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471/5 "2018-04-17T08:57:05Z")

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It’s a revelation! 😮😮😮😮😮😮

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**Author:** ![Hellenar](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.codecombat.com/hellenar/32/9100_2.png) [@Hellenar](https://discourse.codecombat.com/u/Hellenar)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471/6 "2018-04-18T01:56:49Z")

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_angel voices from heaven_  
Personally I thought that rubber duck sounds are similar to “fail” sounds (qwak) so they used rubber ducks, but apparently it’s much more practical than that XD

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**Author:** ![Noah](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.codecombat.com/noah/32/44729_2.png) [@Noah](https://discourse.codecombat.com/u/Noah)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 2:39am UTC](https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471/7 "2024-12-17T02:39:37Z")

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this is really cool 🕶

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**Author:** ![JustALuke](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.codecombat.com/justaluke/32/43608_2.png) [@JustALuke](https://discourse.codecombat.com/u/JustALuke)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://discourse.codecombat.com/t/ever-wonder-why-theres-a-duck-in-code-combats-error-messages/14471/8 "2024-12-17T15:30:14Z")

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Please, don’t necropost if you don’t have anything else to add to the topic or questions to ask about it