||This article needs additional citations for verification. (May
2012)| The Canard Digérateur, or Digesting Duck, was an
automaton in the form of a duck, created by Jacques de Vaucanson
in 1739. The mechanical duck appeared to have the ability to eat
kernels of grain, and to metabolize and defecate them. While the
duck did not actually have the ability to do this—the food was
collected in one inner container, and the pre-stored feces was
'produced' from a second, so that no actual digestion took
place—Vaucanson hoped that a truly digesting automaton could one
day be designed. Voltaire wrote that "without...the duck of
Vaucanson, you will have nothing to remind you of the glory of
France." ("Sans...le canard de Vaucanson vous n'auriez rien qui
fit ressouvenir de la gloire de la France.") Modern presence
The duck is used as the symbol for the software company
Automatic Duck, Inc. A replica of the duck was commissioned
privately from David Secrett, an automaton maker known for his
archer figure. The Duck is fea