When and How Did the Myth of the Quack of a Duck Doesn't Echo Came About?

Question

Alot of people have said this and I was just wondering.

Answer 1

This myth originated in lists of "Random Facts" distributed over the internet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_%28season_1%29#Episode_8_.E2.80.94_.22Escape_From_Alcatraz.2C_Duck_Quack.2C_Stud_Finder.22

http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/schools/lesson5/lesson1p2.htm
http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/duckecho.htm

Answer 2

Snopes.com says that it is a myth, but they can't really determine how it got started. Their best guess is that ducks don't normally congregate in echo producing areas, and that the sound of the duck's quack "decays" as it is uttered, so that it would be difficult to distinguish the echo from the actual quack by people unaccustomed to hearing ducks.