Duck Tape

Originally called “duck” tape (because it was made from a kind of cotton canvas known as “duck”…and it was waterproof), this household staple was developed for the military to keep moisture out of ammunition cases.  Don’t have any leaky ammo cases?  You can use it as a Band-Aid or to repair a tent, even as a fly strip.  Russian cosmonauts used it to help keep the aging Mir Space Station lashed together.  And now it even comes in a rainbow of designer colors, including camouflage.

It was 1942 when Johnson and Johnson invented the tape for the military.  After the war the booming housing industry saw the tape being used to connect heating and air conditioning duct work together.  The color was soon changed from army green to silver to match the ducts.  That’s why we now call it “duct” tape. 

There have been literally thousands of uses for duct tape over the years.  Here are just a few examples:  Snowmobile racers in Alaska use it to cover their exposed skin to protect it from frostbite.  It has been used successfully to close wounds in farm animals.  It helped Chris Kluge win the bronze medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics when he repaired his broken snowboard buckle less than 2 minutes before his race with duct tape.  It’s used to repair racecars at nearly all levels including NASCAR.  Duct tape known as “nuclear tape” is used to repair nuclear reactors.  Fashion models have long used duct tape to enhance their cleavage in low-cut gowns.  (This technique was demonstrated on the Oprah show.) 

Duct tape consists of 3 layers.  1- The top layer is resiliant plastic (polyethelyne), 2- The middle layer is a fabric mesh and 3- The bottom layer is a rubber based adhesive.  It’s manufactured by pressing the 3 layers together.

Duct tape, when doubled over onto itself can pull a 2000 lb. car out of a ditch, and has the distinct benefit of not requiring any tools to cut it — you just rip it with your bare hands.

And you thought it was just for ammo cans.  Silly you.

“Duct tape is like the Force: It has a dark side and a light side — and it holds the universe together.”  Pop philosopher Carl Zwanzig

O.K.  Guess what topic is on tomorrow’s schedule?…   You guessed it.  Hammers!

Thanks to www.ideafinder.com and Uncle John’s Unstoppable Bathroom Reader (16th Edition) for key information.