Oolated Luck
Encyclopedia
Oolated Luck is a comic story about the rivalry between Donald Duck
and Gladstone Gander. It was written and drawn by Don Rosa
, based on a small item appearing in an earlier story by Carl Barks
.
reading an ad about an oolated squigg company and its second annual contest
. The first prize is an ocean liner
cruise which Donald wants to win. It's gonna be difficult, since Gladstone Gander also wants the prize
.
The rules say there's no limit for the number of entries each contestant may submit, so Donald intends to pick all entry forms to make sure Gladstone and his luck won't stop him. Picking the entries won't be as easy as it's originally thought. The company decided to send the 10,000 entry forms inside squigg-shaped balloons through Duckburg.
Still decided to get all the raffle
tickets within the balloons, Donald tries to grab them as soon they are released. Unfortunately, it caused Donald to float away with the balloons. The nephews pointed a balloon floating near Gladstone, who didn't want to make the effort of lifting his arm to get it, said that either a bird will pop the balloon for him or it simply doesn't have the winning ticket.
Eventually, Donald seems to have caught all the balloons, which, as he points out, must have been placed together via a thermal inversion, meaning they must be floating above a place with a low temperature
. The place happens to be the Money Bin. Scrooge McDuck
, fearing the balloons could be another plot of the Beagle Boys
trying to steal his money, shoots them down. As a multitude tries to get the entry forms, Scrooge, who doesn't know about the contest, tries to get them out of Killmotor Hill. When he hears about a contest, the idea of paying more taxes because of the prizes horrifies Scrooge to the point where he agrees to give the balloons to the first one who claims them.
Donald, who was under all the balloons, claims all for himself and heads for the company to claim the prize. As they arrive at the company, the contest organizers are shocked with the idea of one person having all the tickets, but Huey, Dewey and Louie say there's only 9,999 of the 10,000. Donald didn't like the way it sounds, specially with Gladstone around the universe. One of the organisers says that one of the entries got stuck in the factory and never was released. Donald tried to get it before Gladstone but trips and accidentally kicks the ticket right to Gladstone's hands.
Donald asks what Gladstone was doing there since he had no entries and he says the last year's winner gets to draw the winning ticket for this one. Hearing this, Huey, Dewey and Louie figured a way to make Gladstone's luck work against him. They've submitted only one ticket in the name of Donald. All others were for Gladstone. While Gladstone was picking the winning ticket, the nephews comment about Gladstone's luck beating the odds
. That's when Gladstone figured out their plan: they've put the odds for him and against Donald so Gladstone would be beaten by his own luck
. The plan seems to have worked, as Donald wins the cruise and Gladstone gets a year-supply of oolated squiggs as the second-placer.
While trying to enjoy his "prize", Gladstone thinks about the contest and deduces that losing a contest is bad luck regardless of who the odds were for or against. Then he reads an article at the newspaper
about the cruise ship getting stuck in an iceberg
and he later finds a diamond ring
eaten by one of the squiggs. The story ends with Donald in the iceberg having nothing to eat except squiggs recently fished from there.
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
and Gladstone Gander. It was written and drawn by Don Rosa
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa, known simply as Don Rosa, is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and other characters created by Carl Barks for Disney comics, such as The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.-Early life:Don Rosa's grandfather,...
, based on a small item appearing in an earlier story by Carl Barks
Carl Barks
Carl Barks was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , The Junior Woodchucks , Gyro Gearloose , Cornelius Coot , Flintheart Glomgold , John D...
.
Plot
The story starts with Donald and his nephewsHuey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional, anthropomorphic ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first...
reading an ad about an oolated squigg company and its second annual contest
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
. The first prize is an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
cruise which Donald wants to win. It's gonna be difficult, since Gladstone Gander also wants the prize
Prize
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. Official prizes often involve monetary rewards as well as the fame that comes with them...
.
The rules say there's no limit for the number of entries each contestant may submit, so Donald intends to pick all entry forms to make sure Gladstone and his luck won't stop him. Picking the entries won't be as easy as it's originally thought. The company decided to send the 10,000 entry forms inside squigg-shaped balloons through Duckburg.
Still decided to get all the raffle
Raffle
A raffle is a competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each ticket having the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn from a container holding a copy of every number...
tickets within the balloons, Donald tries to grab them as soon they are released. Unfortunately, it caused Donald to float away with the balloons. The nephews pointed a balloon floating near Gladstone, who didn't want to make the effort of lifting his arm to get it, said that either a bird will pop the balloon for him or it simply doesn't have the winning ticket.
Eventually, Donald seems to have caught all the balloons, which, as he points out, must have been placed together via a thermal inversion, meaning they must be floating above a place with a low temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
. The place happens to be the Money Bin. Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Scrooge is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats...
, fearing the balloons could be another plot of the Beagle Boys
Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of fictional characters from the Scrooge McDuck universe. Created by Carl Barks, they are a gang of criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first appearance was in Terror of the Beagle Boys, in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #134,...
trying to steal his money, shoots them down. As a multitude tries to get the entry forms, Scrooge, who doesn't know about the contest, tries to get them out of Killmotor Hill. When he hears about a contest, the idea of paying more taxes because of the prizes horrifies Scrooge to the point where he agrees to give the balloons to the first one who claims them.
Donald, who was under all the balloons, claims all for himself and heads for the company to claim the prize. As they arrive at the company, the contest organizers are shocked with the idea of one person having all the tickets, but Huey, Dewey and Louie say there's only 9,999 of the 10,000. Donald didn't like the way it sounds, specially with Gladstone around the universe. One of the organisers says that one of the entries got stuck in the factory and never was released. Donald tried to get it before Gladstone but trips and accidentally kicks the ticket right to Gladstone's hands.
Donald asks what Gladstone was doing there since he had no entries and he says the last year's winner gets to draw the winning ticket for this one. Hearing this, Huey, Dewey and Louie figured a way to make Gladstone's luck work against him. They've submitted only one ticket in the name of Donald. All others were for Gladstone. While Gladstone was picking the winning ticket, the nephews comment about Gladstone's luck beating the odds
Odds
The odds in favor of an event or a proposition are expressed as the ratio of a pair of integers, which is the ratio of the probability that an event will happen to the probability that it will not happen...
. That's when Gladstone figured out their plan: they've put the odds for him and against Donald so Gladstone would be beaten by his own luck
Luck
Luck or fortuity is good fortune which occurs beyond one's control, without regard to one's will, intention, or desired result. There are at least two senses people usually mean when they use the term, the prescriptive sense and the descriptive sense...
. The plan seems to have worked, as Donald wins the cruise and Gladstone gets a year-supply of oolated squiggs as the second-placer.
While trying to enjoy his "prize", Gladstone thinks about the contest and deduces that losing a contest is bad luck regardless of who the odds were for or against. Then he reads an article at the newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
about the cruise ship getting stuck in an iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
and he later finds a diamond ring
Diamond ring
Diamond ring or This Diamond Ring or Diamond Rings may refer to:Jewelry*Diamond ring, a type of jewelry featuring a diamond. For this usage, see also engagement ring.Media...
eaten by one of the squiggs. The story ends with Donald in the iceberg having nothing to eat except squiggs recently fished from there.