THEPOCKETEDOBJECTS

All the primary characters in Carl Barks' duck universe seem to carry around a variety of objects that are not normally seen, because they are hidden in their clothes. This is very strange in several respects: The characters' garments do not appear to have pockets at all, the objects they do carry do not bulge in any way, the size and weight of the pocketed objects do not affect the bearers, and they always happen to carry around just the right object for every situation!
Well, Barks' stories were, of course, science fiction meaning that the characters were able to do whatever they pleased including producing different objects from hidden places in their clothes. One might expect that the characters carry normal, everyday belongings such as handkerchiefs, notebooks, pencils, matches, loose change, and (in Donald's case) a photo of Daisy, but this is not always the case as far as we know! As a matter of fact we have, several times, witnessed that the characters' pockets are completely empty, when they have turned them inside out!! Even odder is it that, when Donald, his nephews, and Uncle Scrooge are on their adventurous journeys we never get to see passports, travel tickets, or hotel reservations - and to top it all they very rarely travel with suitcases, which strongly indicates exceptionally roomy pockets!!!

On this page you will find groups of objects that the Ducks and Scrooge are carrying in the stories. It has to be underlined that you are merely presented to examples - you can find many more by browsing the stories yourself...

COINS

WDCS105 'The False Echoes'

FC0495 'The Water Tank Bin'

It is not often that we see the ducks with coins as we do in WDCS105 'The False Echoes', where Donald uses the same coin over and over in order to outsmart his cheating nephews. However, in some situations the ducks must have a fair amount of change in their pockets. Examples: In WDCS175 'The Taffy Pull' Huey and Louie have been selling taffy all day along, in U$55 McDuck of Arabia Dewey has enough money to have a trumpet-to-go specially made, and in U$28 The 'Paul Bunyan' Machine Scrooge has stuffed so many coins in his pockets that they are bursting!
The ducks even carry special coins: In WDCS149 'Flipism' Donald tosses the same coin in order to decide his actions, and in numerous stories Scrooge has revealed that he is carrying the precious Number One Dime in his pockets or elsewhere under his jacket. Donald even carried the coin for a while in WDCS258 Ten Cent Valentine, until he got mugged...

DOLLAR BILLS

WDCS148 'Free Dinner'

U$61 'Money Coat'

In Scrooge's broadcloth coat there must be roomy pockets which he is obviously able to reach in a flash despite the coat's tightly closed appearance. Several times we have seen him closing a deal by miraculously producing a thick bundle of dollar bills from nowhere as demonstrated in WDCS148 'Free Dinner'. The story is a good example, because it tells about Scrooge's seemingly inability to pay a restaurant bill until the last moment. In U$42 The Case of the Sticky Money Scrooge is forced to pay for all the ducks' ice cream sodas. He does so by presenting a 1,000 dollar bill, hoping that the café owner will not be able to make change. And in U$61 'Money Coat' Scrooge convincingly demonstrates how he keeps warm during the winter (the panel shows you how)!
When it comes to stuffing a garment with bills, Donald has also had his day; in WDCS211 'The Coconutty Story' he winds up with so many greenbacks that they stick out everywhere under his jacket...

WALLETS

WDCS127 'April Fool's Day'

WDCS288 Hero of the Dike

The traditional way for men to carry money is in a wallet. Strangely enough we have never seen the wallet that Scrooge is almost sure to pocket (we have just seen his purse with moths flying out!), but it is another matter with the - normally - penniless Donald. In WDCS127 'April Fool's Day' he finds a wallet, which he decides to keep as his own, and in WDCS288 Hero of the Dike a vagabond lifts the defenseless Donald's wallet from the back of his jacket.

BOOKS

U$19 The Mines of King Solomon

U$31 The Secret Book

Of course, the book that comes to mind - which is carried with them at all times - is the nephews' copy of the Junior Woodchucks' Guide Book. Surprisingly the rather voluminous book fits nicely in the nephews' inner pockets, from where they can just rip it out when needed. We have witnessed this on numerous occasions throughout the stories; U$19 The Mines of King Solomon is only one example. Whether the nephews actually carry one each is uncertain (still plausible), but you are only shown one at any time.
Normally, one would not carry a large book around in a pocket, but Scrooge did it once in the 1-pager U$31 The Secret Book. Here he produced his own title The Secret Of My Billions - consisting of nothing but blank pages...

WATCHES

U$10 Heirloom Watch

U$37 Cave of Ali Baba

Apparently all of the ducks carry pocket watches. Examples: Scrooge in U$10 Heirloom Watch, in U$56 Mystery of the Ghost Town Railroad, and in WDCS202 'The Weather Hole', Donald carries a gold watch in his right jacket pocket in WDCS073 'The Gold Finder', and one of the nephews is using his pocket watch in WDCS203 'Delivery Boys'.
A more sophisticated type of watch is the nephews' specially designed Junior Woodchucks calendar watch displayed in U$37 Cave of Ali Baba.

WHISTLES

U$19 The Mines of King Solomon

WDCS203 'Delivery Boys'

The most famous whistles in the stories are the ones supplied by the Junior Woodchucks organisation. They are specially made and function as animal call whistles. The nephews used them in two stories; U$19 The Mines of King Solomon and U$61 So Far and No Safari.
In WDCS203 'Delivery Boys' we learned that Dewey also carries a police whistle, which he blows in order to wake a sleeping man.

POCKETKNIVES

DD26 Hobblin' Goblins

WDCS132 'The JW Merit Badges'

It is a normal assumption that boys often carry around a small pocketknife in order to cope with certain situations. This may also be the case with the nephews, although Barks has offered only two stories demonstrating the point; in FC0203 The Golden Christmas Tree we heard of the knives, and in DD26 Hobblin' Goblins we saw them in action.
Whether or not Donald is the steady carrier of a pocketknife is unknown, but he used one repeatedly in WDCS132 'The JW Merit Badges'.

SLINGSHOTS

FC0300 Big-top Bedlam

MOC20 Darkest Africa

Another stereotypical object supposedly carried by many male youngsters is a slingshot. Barks offered three stories in which the nephews were armed with such weapons; in FC0300 Big-top Bedlam the three nephews take turns shooting at Donald with the same slingshot, in DD46 Secret of Hondorica Louie takes a marksman shot at Gladstone, and in MOC20 Darkest Africa the nephews each have a slingshot which they use on the villain.

MIRRORS

WDCS137 'The Screaming Cowboy'

WDCS197 'Border Patrolman'

Carrying a mirror is usually perceived as a 'girlie' thing. Still, we have never seen, for example, Daisy produce a mirror from her garments or her purse. But the nephews carry mirrors! These were used as signaling devices in WDCS137 'The Screaming Cowboy' (by Dewey) and WDCS197 'Border Patrolman'.

MULTIPLE OBJECTS

U$30 Pipeline to Danger

VP1 'A Day in the Country'

On two occasions the ducks have emptied their pockets completely disclosing an array of objects that they usually carry: In U$30 Pipeline to Danger Scrooge frantically empties his coat pockets and reveals pens, keys, coins, and a pocket watch, and in VP1 'A Day in the Country' the nephews have emptied their, obviously gigantic, sweater pockets, in which all their belongings are displayed at Grandma's table: pea shooters, slingshot, marbles, pocket watch, compass, harmonica, baseball, pocket knives, binoculars, and ... a pet toad!

SINGLE OBJECTS

U$18 Land of the Pygmy Indians Handkerchief				WDCS270 The Jinxed Jalopy Race Chewing Gum

WDCS181 'Building Bridges' Pencil				WDCS252 Mr. Private Eye Detective Licence

FC0108 The Firebug Matches				WDCS074 'Bill Collecting' Marbles

U$48 The Many Faces of Magica ... Soap				WDCS157 'Climbing Mount Demontooth' Band-aids

U$06 'Tralla La' Bottle Opener				U$10 The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone Solid Rock(!)

Above you can see graphic examples of objects that were mostly used once. But there are many more: Toy pistols (WDCS061 'Fine Detectives'), Magnet (WDCS136 'Turkey Raffle'), Trailer key (WDCS168 'Crocs Aplenty'), Folding cup (U$10 'Fill My Cup!'), Flashlight (U$56 Mystery of the Ghost Town Railroad). The list goes on and on...