A
decoy is usually a person,
deviceA broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other. The most basic tools are simple machines. For example, a crowbar simply functions as a lever. The further out from the pivot point, the more...
or event meant as a distraction to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game
huntingHunting is the practice of pursuing living animals for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, but also in
warWar is a reciprocated, armed conflict, between two or more non-congruous entities, aimed at reorganising a subjectively designed, geo-politically desired result...
time and in the committing or resolving of
crimeCrime is the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some governing authority, via mechanisms such as police power, may ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s.
The decoy in war may
for example be a wooden fake
tankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities...
, designed to be mistaken by
bomberA bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them.-Classifications of bombers:...
plane crews to be real, or a device that fools an automatic system such as a
guided missileGuided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of considered and quality releases and developing the numerous and now essential GMevents around London and...
, by simulating some physical properties of a real target.
For a
defenseDefense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
system, decoys and
chaffChaff, originally called Window by the British, and Düppel by the World War II era German Luftwaffe, is a radar countermeasure in which aircraft or other targets spread a cloud of small, thin pieces of aluminium, metallised glass fibre or plastic, which either appears as a cluster of secondary...
for ICBMs would mainly work in mid-course: during the boost phase they would be inside the
rocketA rocket or rocket vehicle is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust by the reaction of the rocket to the ejection of a jet of fast moving fluid exhaust from a rocket engine. Chemical rockets create their exhaust by the combustion of rocket propellant...
, because separate rockets for each of many decoys would not be practical, while at
atmospheric reentryAtmospheric reentry refers to the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a planet from outer space, in the case of Earth from an altitude above the "edge of space." This article primarily addresses the process of controlled reentry of vehicles which are intended...
light decoys and chaff considerably slow down and/or are destroyed in the
atmosphereThe Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
.
A
decoy was originally a small pond with a long cone-shaped wickerwork tunnel, used to catch wild
duckDuck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks...
s.
A
decoy is usually a person,
deviceA broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other. The most basic tools are simple machines. For example, a crowbar simply functions as a lever. The further out from the pivot point, the more...
or event meant as a distraction to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game
huntingHunting is the practice of pursuing living animals for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, but also in
warWar is a reciprocated, armed conflict, between two or more non-congruous entities, aimed at reorganising a subjectively designed, geo-politically desired result...
time and in the committing or resolving of
crimeCrime is the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some governing authority, via mechanisms such as police power, may ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s.
The decoy in war may
for example be a wooden fake
tankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities...
, designed to be mistaken by
bomberA bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them.-Classifications of bombers:...
plane crews to be real, or a device that fools an automatic system such as a
guided missileGuided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of considered and quality releases and developing the numerous and now essential GMevents around London and...
, by simulating some physical properties of a real target.
For a
defenseDefense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
system, decoys and
chaffChaff, originally called Window by the British, and Düppel by the World War II era German Luftwaffe, is a radar countermeasure in which aircraft or other targets spread a cloud of small, thin pieces of aluminium, metallised glass fibre or plastic, which either appears as a cluster of secondary...
for ICBMs would mainly work in mid-course: during the boost phase they would be inside the
rocketA rocket or rocket vehicle is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust by the reaction of the rocket to the ejection of a jet of fast moving fluid exhaust from a rocket engine. Chemical rockets create their exhaust by the combustion of rocket propellant...
, because separate rockets for each of many decoys would not be practical, while at
atmospheric reentryAtmospheric reentry refers to the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a planet from outer space, in the case of Earth from an altitude above the "edge of space." This article primarily addresses the process of controlled reentry of vehicles which are intended...
light decoys and chaff considerably slow down and/or are destroyed in the
atmosphereThe Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
.
A
decoy was originally a small pond with a long cone-shaped wickerwork tunnel, used to catch wild
duckDuck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks...
s. After the ducks settled, a small trained dog would herd the ducks into the tunnel. The catch was formerly sent to market for food, but now these are only used to catch ducks to be
ringBird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
ed and released: see
ornithologyOrnithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
. The word came from
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
eende(n)kooi = "duck cage". As the above meaning of a person or device supplanted the original meaning as the most common, the latter acquired the
retronymA retronym is a new name for an object or concept to differentiate the original form or version of it from a more recent form or version. The original name is most often augmented with an adjective to account for later developments of the object or concept itself...
"decoy pool".
List of Duck Decoys
Wildfowl decoys (primarily ducks, geese, shorebirds, and crows, but including some other species) are considered a form of
folk artFolk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic...
. Collecting decoys has become a significant hobby both for folk art collectors and hunters. The world record was set in January 2007 when a
red-breasted merganserThe Red-breasted Merganser is a diving duck.Its breeding habitat is freshwater lakes and rivers across northern North America, Greenland, Europe and Asia. It nests in sheltered locations on the ground near water...
hen (circa 1875) by Lothrop Holmes of Kingston, MA sold for $856,000(US).
In biochemistry
In biochemistry, there are decoy
receptorsIn biochemistry, a receptor is a protein molecule, embedded in either the plasma membrane or cytoplasm of a cell, to which a mobile signaling molecule may attach...
, decoy substrates and decoy RNA. In addition, digital decoys are used in
protein foldingProtein folding is the physical process by which a polypeptide folds into its characteristic and functional three-dimensional structure from random coil....
simulations.
Decoy receptor
A decoy receptor, or sink receptor , is a receptor that binds a
ligandIn chemistry, a ligand is either an atom, ion, or molecule that binds to a central metal-atom to produce a coordination complex. The bonding between the metal and ligand generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electron pairs. The metal-ligand bonding ranges from covalent...
, inhibiting it from binding to its normal receptor. For instance, the receptor VEGFR-1 can prevent
vascular endothelial growth factorVascular endothelial growth factor is a chemical signal produced by cells that stimulates the growth of new blood vessels. It is part of the system that restores the oxygen supply to tissues when blood circulation is inadequate....
(VEGF) from binding to the VEGFR-2
Decoy substrate
A
decoy substrate or
pseudosubstrate is a protein that has similar structure to the
substrateIn biochemistry, a substrate is a molecule upon which an enzyme acts. Enzymes catalyze chemical reactions involving the substrate. In the case of a single substrate, the substrate binds with the enzyme active site, and an enzyme-substrate complex is formed. The substrate is transformed into one or...
of an
enzymeEnzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called substrates, and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, called the products. Almost all processes in a biological cell need enzymes to occur at...
, in order to make the enzyme bind to the pseudosubstrate rather than to the real substrate, thus blocking the activity of the enzyme. These proteins are therefore
enzyme inhibitorEnzyme inhibitors are molecules that bind to enzymes and decrease their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. They are also used as herbicides and pesticides...
s.
Examples include 3KL produced by vaccinia virus, which prevents the
immune systemAn immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
of phosphorylating the substrate eIF-2 by having a similar structure to eIF-2. Thus, the vaccinia virus avoids the immune system.
Digital decoys
In protein folding simulations, a decoy is a computer-generated protein structure which is designed so to
compete with the real structure of the protein. Decoys are used to test the validity of a protein model; the model is considered correct only if is able to identify the native state configuration of the protein among the decoys.
Decoys are generally used to overcome a main problem in protein folding simulations: the enormity of the
conformational spacePolymer chemistry or macromolecular chemistry is a multidisciplinary science that deals with the chemical synthesis and chemical properties of polymers or macromolecules. According to IUPAC recommendations , macromolecules refer to the individual molecular chains and are the domain of chemistry...
. For very detailed protein models, it can be practically impossible to explore all the possible configurations to find the native state.
To deal with this problem, one can make use of decoys. The idea behind this is that it is unnecessary to search blindly through all possible conformations for the native conformation; the search can be limited to a relevant sub-set of structures. To start with, all non-compact configurations can be excluded.
A typical decoy set will include globular conformations of various shapes, some having no secondary structures, some having helices and sheets in different proportions.
The computer model being tested will be used to calculate the
free energyIn thermodynamics, the term thermodynamic free energy refers to the amount of work that can be extracted from a system, and is helpful in engineering applications...
of the protein in the decoy configurations. The minimum requirement for the model to be correct is that it identifies the native state as the minimum free energy state (see
Anfinsen's dogmaAnfinsen's dogma is a postulate in molecular biology championed by the Nobel prize laureate Christian B. Anfinsen...
).
Decoys as folk art
Main article Waterfowl decoy collecting
Ever since
Joel BarberJoel Barber was an early 20th century architect from New York who is best known as an early collector and promoter of duck decoys as folk art.Barber began collecting the carved wooden decoys in 1918 after finding one by accident near his Long Island boathouse. In addition to collecting and...
, the first known decoy collector, started in 1918, decoys have become increasingly viewed as an important form of North American folk art. Barber's book
Wild Fowl DecoysWild Fowl Decoys is an art reference book by American collector Joel Barber, first published in 1934 by The Derrydale Press.This heavily illustrated book aimed to be a comprehensive guide to the carved wooden duck decoy. Used by early American waterfowl hunters, this type of decoy was promoted by...
, was the first book on decoys as collectible objects. It was followed in 1965 by folk art dealer Adele Earnest's "The Art of the Decoy" and "American Bird Decoys" by collector Wm. F. Mackey.
By that time a milestone in collecting had already occurred with the publication of "Decoy Collectors Guide", a small magazine created by hobbyists Hal & Barbara Sorenson of Burlington, Iowa. The 'Guide' helped foster a sense of community and provided a forum for collectors to share their research.
By the 1970s decoys were becoming big business, at least by previous standards. The death of Wm. F. Mackey brought his decoys to market in a series of auctions in 1973 and 1974, with the star of his collection, a Long-billed Curlew by Wm. 'Bill' Bowman selling for a record US$10,500.
Since the 1960s numerous collectors organizations have been created, specialist books and magazines published, with specialist dealers, and special interest shows around the US and Canada.
The largest collectors organization is the Midwest Decoy Collectors Association (MDCA)which despite its name is the de facto international group. MDCA is a non-profit, [501(c)(3)] organization which sponsors the biggest show of the year. There are numerous state and regional groups as well.
The current World Record price for an antique duck decoy:
Red Breasted Merganser Hen by Lothrop Holmes for $856,000. Guyette & Schmidt and
Christie'sChristie's is a leading art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
New York. January 2007.
A new record was set when two decoys (Canada goose and a preening pintail drake) by A. Elmer Crowell of East Harwich, MA were sold for $1.13 million dollars each on September 19, 2007 by Stephen O'Brien Jr. Fine Arts, in what O'Brien describes as "the largest private sale of decoys ever." The decoys were part of a private sale of 31 decoys for $7.5 million. Joe Engers, Editor of Decoy Magazine, noted that O'Brien is one of the top dealers of decoys in the country.
Among other admired makers were the Ward brothers, Lemuel (1896-1984) and Steven, of Crisfield,
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
. Their career output is estimated at between 27,000 and 40,000 birds, working and decorative.
Fish decoy collecting is also quite popular. Especially ice fishing decoys. See also fishing lures.
----
See also
- Boarstall Duck Decoy
The Boarstall Duck Decoy is a 17th-century duck decoy located in Boarstall, Buckinghamshire, England, and now a National Trust property.At one time a common sight in the English countryside, only four duck decoys now remain. The Boarstall Duck Decoy is still in working order, and is surrounded by ...
- Hale Duck Decoy
Hale Duck Decoy is a duck decoy located near to the village of Hale, in Halton, Cheshire, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, owned by Hale Estates and administered by Halton Borough Council.-History:...
- Mobile submarine simulator
The mobile submarine simulator MK70 is a sonar decoy used by submarines of the United States Navy. It was a 10-inch vehicle, without an explosive warhead, but able to generate both an active sonar echo and a passive sound signature recorded to be extremely similar to that of the launching submarine...
- Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
- Decoy effect
In marketing, the decoy effect is the phenomenon whereby consumers will tend to have a specific change in preference between two options when also presented with a third option that is asymmetrically dominated...
- Honeypots
In computer terminology, a honeypot is a trap set to detect, deflect, or in some manner counteract attempts at unauthorized use of information systems...
--decoy resources for computer network securityIn the field of networking, the specialist area of network security consists of the provisions made in an underlying computer network infrastructure, policies adopted by the network administrator to protect the network and the network-accessible resources from unauthorized access, and consistent...
.
- XGAM-71 Buck Duck
- Military dummies
A dummy round is a round of ammunition that is completely inert, i.e., contains no primer, propellant, or explosive charge. It is used to check weapon function, and for crew training. Dummy ammunition is distinct from "practice" ammunition, which may contain smaller than normal amounts of...
- Decoy passwords
External links
- Collecting Decoys: Getting Started Tips for beginners.
- The Midwest Decoy Collectors Association (MDCA) The de facto international collectors association.
- The Book of Duck Decoys - Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey
Sir Ralph William Frankland-Payne-Gallwey, 3rd Baronet was an accomplished engineer, historian, ballistics expert, and artist.He authored several books on military and sporting history, theory, and practice. He wrote The Crossbow, which was re-published in 2007 by Skyhorse Publishing....
, 1886 (full text)
- British Duck Decoys of To-Day, 1918 - Joseph Whitaker (full text)
- Decoy Magazine - Premier Place for Collecting Antique Duck Decoys
- Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art - Salisbury, MD.
- Havre de Grace Decoy Museum - Duck Decoy Museum. Havre de Grace, MD.
- Russ and Karen Goldberger - Author and Specialists in Mason Decoys.
- Linda and Gene Kangas - Authors/Collectors/Specialists in Decoys & Folk Art
- Materials Systems Inc. - Acoustic decoy system [High Power Broadband Acoustic Source for Torpedo Defense Sonar].