astronomy

Long Boi

Long Boi is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Long Boi rather than just read about it. In short: Long Boi (before 2018 – April 2023) was an unusually tall male duck that lived by Derwent College, University of York, England. He was thought to be an Indian Runner duck-Mallard cross, standing out among the other ducks on the campus due to his height.

Key takeaways

Long Boi belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Long Boi to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Long Boi from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Long Boi (before 2018 – April 2023) was an unusually tall male duck that lived by Derwent College, University of York, England. He was thought to be an Indian Runner duck-Mallard cross, standing out among the other ducks on the campus due to his height. He went viral and became an internet meme in 2021. His popularity saw him become an unofficial mascot for the university. At least one commentator has branded him 'Britain's most famous duck'. In May 2023, Long Boi was presumed dead, having not been seen on campus for several weeks. A memorial service for Long Boi was held on 26 September 2024, which was presided over by Greg James and broadcast live on BBC Radio 1, and culminated with the unveiling of a bronze statue of Long Boi.

Biography Little is known about Long Boi's origins, although it is believed that he was left on the University of York campus as an unwanted pet. Students fed him to help him to settle into his new home, noting that he didn't seem to fit in with the other ducks at first. Long Boi spent most of his time on and around Heslington Fish Pond next to Derwent College, where he eventually integrated with the other campus waterfowl. His friends included a smaller male Indian runner duck called Chonky Boi, some female mallards, and a male mandarin duck called Fancy Boi.

Rise to popularity Long Boi has become a University of York campus celebrity and informal mascot, often mentioned in welcome talks and graduation ceremonies. Long Boi fluffy toys have been presented to the university's graduates. Long Boi became an internet sensation in 2021 following a Reddit post that incorrectly described him as the tallest mallard ever, at over 1m tall (in fact he was around 70cm tall, and not a true mallard duck). Long Boi was subsequently mentioned by James Corden on his US late-night talk show The Late Late Show in April 2021, who showed an edited image of Long Boi dressed in a trench coat and quipped, "Put a trench coat on that duck and he looks like two ducks trying to get into an R-rated movie". Followers of Long Boi's Instagram account, run by University of York biology student Zoe Duffin, increased to 16,300 people in less than 24 hours. Footballer Peter Crouch, who is 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), shared his appreciation of Long Boi, tweeting "That's my kind of duck!". In 2022 Long Boi was mentioned by Greg James on BBC Radio 1 who hoped to do a show with Long Boi. After some planning and with help from the university's social media team and the University of York Students' Union, this was able to happen in March 2023 where he was able to 'quack' on the show. Long Boi has been the subject of April Fools jokes by The Tab, claiming that the university planned to feature Long Boi on its new logo and that Vice-Chancellor Charlie Jeffery had awarded him an Honorary Doctorate, calling him the "perfect ambassador" for the university. At the university he inspired the Long Boi Society, a student society centred on an interest in waterfowl and on Long Boi himself. In April 2023, third-year Environment, Economics and Ecology student Tom Howes received a tattoo of Long Boi while on a university volleyball tour in Portugal. The tattoo made national news and added to Long Boi's virality.

Disappearance In early May 2023, students and staff at the university raised concerns that Long Boi seemed to have gone missing from campus; The Tab reported that he had not been sighted since 22 April, whilst a post on Long Boi's Instagram page claimed the last known sighting was "sometime around mid-March." A spokesperson for the university told the York Vision: "Long Boi is a much-loved character on campus and whilst we haven't seen him around over the past few weeks, we continue to keep a lookout for him and hope to see him again, safe and well, soon." Considering Long Boi's popularity and importance to the university, the Ground and Estates team reportedly searched the campus while also reminding students that, as a wild animal, he may simply have left the university grounds. The main speculation was that Long Boi was a victim of a recent fox attack, while rumours spread that he had died but the university's student union had postponed reporting his death due to York's defeat in the 2023 Roses Tournament. A duck expert also highlighted that, considering the time of year, it was possible that Long Boi had temporarily left the grounds of the university in order to find a mate. A 3 May 2023 post from Long Boi's Instagram account said that there is "a strong possibility that Long Boi may have passed away." The Daily Telegraph reported that there were calls among students for a statue of Long Boi to be erected in light of his disappearance. This was not the first time that this idea had been suggested, with a suggestion on YUSUggestions from 2022 campaigning for this. Two consecutive YUSU presidents supported the idea in principle but raised concerns over how financially viable the idea was and proposed a crowdfunding campaign. On 11 May 2023, the University of York concluded that Long Boi had died. He had not been seen on campus for nearly two months. In May 2024 a post on a university confessions page claimed that Long Boi had been killed by a member of the Lancaster University men's hockey team who were at York for the 2023 Roses Tournament. Members of the team were quick to debunk it, while other students questioned how realistic it was, notably the claim that the confessor found loose bricks around the campus. This seemed unlikely, given the absence of bricks around Derwent Common.

Legacy

In August 2023 the Long Boi Society was put up for adoption, meaning that it had been unable to have a full committee when reratifying with YUSU. In September 2023, the Department of Biology launched its "Long Boiology [sic] Art Trail", celebrating art, science and education in the Biosciences at York through the medium of Indian Runner duck silhouettes decorated by staff and students attached to various locations on West Campus. Jeremy Corbyn expressed his condolences to the student community, stating “If an appropriate memorial appears I will wish to visit it…I would happily take a selfie with him.” The official merchandise for the 2024 BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend featured Long Boi. In autumn 2024, in tribute to Long Boi, the ghost "Long Duck" was added to the York Museum Gardens as part of the York BID "Ghosts in the Gardens" project.

Statue

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Long Boi

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Long Boi claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Long Boi before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Long Boi ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Long Boi

In research: Long Boi appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Long Boi in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Long Boi is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2023 animal deaths, Culture of the University of York, Duck mascots, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Long Boi outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Long Boi in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Long Boi means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Long Boi out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Long Boi in simple terms?

Why does Long Boi matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Long Boi?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Long Boi.