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Revision as of 15:25, 19 March 2007

File:Duct tape-transparent and silver.jpg

A piece of transparent duct tape, left, and of silver duct tape, right.

Duct tape, in the USA, is a strong, fabric-based, multi-purpose pressure-sensitive adhesive tape. It is generally silver or black in color but many other colors, like transparent, have recently become available. With a standard width of 1.88 inches (48 mm), duct tape was originally developed during World War II in 1942 as a waterproof sealing tape for ammunition cases. Permacel, then a division of Johnson & Johnson, used a rubber-based adhesive to help the tape resist water and a fabric backing to facilitate ripping. Because of these properties, it was also used to quickly repair military equipment, including jeeps, guns, and aircraft. Duct tape is also called "100 mph tape" in the military, citing the fact that duct tape will maintain its adhesion when subjected to winds traveling at up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), which is why duct tape is used for quick repairs to cars during NASCAR races.

After the war, the housing industry boomed and people started using duct tape for many other purposes. The name "duct tape" came from its use on heating and air conditioning ducts, a purpose for which it, ironically, has been deemed ineffective. To provide lab data about which sealants and tapes last, and which are likely to fail, research was conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Environmental Energy Technologies Division. Their major conclusion is that one should use anything but duct tape to seal ducts. (They defined duct tape as any fabric-based tape with rubber adhesive.) The testing done shows that under challenging but realistic conditions, duct tapes fail. Its use in ducts has been prohibited by the state of California and by building codes in most other places in the U.S. (which means professionals are forbidden to use it in systems they install, but do-it-yourselfers are not). However, metalized and aluminum tapes used by professionals are still often called "duct tapes."

Common uses

Duct tape is extremely sticky and found in many people's tool kits. Its versatility and holding power are evidenced by its humorous nickname in engineering circles: "the ultimate material." Another frequent joke (referenced below) is that a handyman needs only two tools: duct tape for "sticking" and the lubricant WD-40 for "unsticking." Duct tape is also heavily used in automotive repair.

NASA engineers' faith in duct tape as an emergency tool was rewarded in 1970, when the square carbon dioxide filters from Apollo 13's failed command module had to be modified to fit round receptacles in the lunar module, which was being used as a lifeboat after an explosion en route to the moon. Engineers designed a workaround using duct tape and other items on board Apollo 13, relaying directions to the spacecraft's crew. The lunar module CO₂ scrubbers started working again, saving the lives of the three astronauts on board.

Ed Smylie, one of the NASA mission control engineers who designed the scrubber modification in just two days, said later that he knew the problem was solvable when it was confirmed that duct tape was on the spacecraft: "I felt like we were home free" he said in 2005. "One thing a Southern boy will never say is 'I don't think duct tape will fix it.'"

Duct tape is also sometimes used by musicians and on film sets and in theatres, although a more specialized product, commonly known as gaffer tape in entertainment circles, is preferred as it does not leave a sticky residue when removed and is more easily torn into thin strips for precise application.

Alternative uses

File:Dragonracer.jpg

The "Dragonracer", winner of the Stuck In Traffic competition

File:Modelshipmadewithpaper.jpg

Model ship made with unusual materials: rolled-up tubes of paper, Express Mail labels, and duct tape.

Duck Products annually sponsors a competition that offers a college scholarship to the person who creates the most stylish prom formal wear made from duct tape. The number of uses to which duct tape can be put is a source of humor (many of these are collected in books by "The Duct Tape Guys"). One of Duck Products previous competitions was for vehicles covered in duct tape called "Stuck in Traffic". Entries included rabbits, a castle, a van decorated as Van Gogh's Starry Night (titled VanGo), and won by a truck called the Dragonracer (pictured) - a half dragon, half two-toned race car.

Some people enjoy making novelty items out of duct tape or decorating objects with it. Increased interest in creating these novelty and fashion pieces (such as duct tape prom dresses and handbags) has given rise to designer duct tape handbags, wallets, belts and related items. Crafters quickly realized the art, difficulty and time involved in creating the quality pieces they wanted and so began looking for already-made duct tape fashions. Love My Bag, LLC, which is known for retailing major name-brand fashion designers such as Prada and Fendi, began retailing an exclusive line of duct tape handbags. A company called 'Ducti' makes wallets and bags from the tape, , as well as a site that offers many other unique products skillfully crafted from duct tape ducttaperevolution.com and a college student who sells many different products from his website and helped begin the trend ducttapefashion.com.

A medical study announced on major news networks on October 15, 2002, stated that application of duct tape can be used as an effective treatment for warts. This treatment is often called by the name duct tape occlusion therapy. A more recent study claimed to have debunked these findings, pointing out the original researchers didn't actually examine participants to determine if the warts were in fact gone, but instead phoned participants and asked. In the 2006 study of 103 children, duct tape did not perform significantly better than a placebo. It should be noted, however, that in this study, duct tape was applied just one night a week, rather than the intended six days a week.

Duct tape is used extensively in the creation and identification of weaponry used by the Society for Creative Anachronism. The official SCA Weapons Standards is not specific, but duct tape is commonly known as the preferred material.

The epigram "duct tape is like The Force – it has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together" has been attributed to science fiction fan Carl Zwanzig. Red Green of The Red Green Show refers to duct tape as "the handyman's secret weapon" and says that, "If you have duct tape and you need money, you're better off than if you have money and need duct tape". The fictional television character MacGyver and the various members of the A-Team were also famous for inventive use of duct tape. Duct tape is often referred to as "a musician's best friend" because many musicians, particularly in rock or similar genres, use duct tape to do any number of things, like padding drum heads, securing instrument straps, keeping cords and cables organized, securing microphones to mic stands or taping set lists to stage floors.

One of the catch-phrases of Tim Allen in his sit-com persona of Tim 'The Toolman' Taylor is "if you can't fix it, 'duck' it!".

Duct tape is sometimes used to wrap around tennis balls to make them behave more like a cricket ball. It is a less common practice to use duct tape as electrical tape, and it is not really suitable for that purpose.

In 2006, Rippedsheets.com introduced a fully inkjet printable sheet of duct tape that is coated to print in high resolution.

The Duct Tape Guys (Jim Berg and Tim Nyberg) as of 2005 have written seven books about duct tape. Their bestselling books have sold over 1.5 million copies and feature real and wacky uses of duct tape. In 1994 they coined the phrase, "It Ain't Broke, It Just Lacks Duct Tape". Added to that phrase in 1995 with the publication of their WD-40 Book was, "Two rules get you through life: If it's stuck and it's not supposed to be, WD-40 it. If it's not stuck and it's supposed to be, duct tape it". Their website features thousands of duct tape uses from people around the world from fashions to auto repair.

Duct tape is also used as an effective gag when smoothed over a person's mouth and lips. It is used frequently in BDSM. This use has been featured in many mystery or drama movies and television shows, including "Alias", "24", "Into The Blue", "WWE Raw", "V.I.P." "Ulee's Gold", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Bombshell", "Acapulco HEAT", "Mission Impossible 3","Smallville","Dark Angel" "Macgyver" and various soap operas including "Days Of Our Lives", "General Hospital", "The Young and The Restless", and "Guiding Light."

Among the actresses that have sported the duct tape gag in movies and television shows are Jennifer Garner, Trish Stratus, Jessica Alba, Allison Mack, Jessica Biel, Pamela Anderson, Kirsten Dunst, Elisha Cuthbert, Nicole Kidman, and various others.

As a quick fix, duct tape can be used as a temporary bandage, until proper medical treatment and bandages can be applied to a wound.

Etymology

The origins of the name "duct tape" are the subject of some disagreement.

A view, popular among many Internet Q&A sites, considers older references to non-adhesive strips of a textile called cotton duck, used in Venetian blinds, as the origin of duct tape. Additionally, there is a popular but unverifiable tale about WWII soldiers comparing the waterproof qualities of the original adhesive product to that of a duck's plumage. Under this view, "duck tape" mistakenly was changed in spoken usage to "duct tape" and then coincidentally later mistakenly changed in spoken usage back to "duck tape" by some people. For these reasons, the OED says that perhaps "duct tape" was originally "duck tape." This view is summarized most notably in a New York Times article by etymologist William Safire in March of 2003.

The other view is a more conservative etymology, noting that documented use of the word "duct" to describe the product in question (because it was used primarily in ductwork at the time) pre-dates any known, documented use of the word "duck" to describe the same, by many years, and that there is no evidence supporting the WWII story or that the product got its name by altering the name of a different product. This view also accepts the simpler explanation that people have just confused the effectively identical pronunciation of two similar but unrelated products through the process of elision, and the rest of the "duck" etymology is folklore or fabrication. This view was summarized most notably in a Boston Globe article by etymologist Jan Freeman, also in March of 2003.

Different meaning in Australia

The name duct tape can lead to confusion in conversation between North Americans and Australians, since it refers to a completely different type of tape in Australia, as shown right. Duct tape in Australia is a 48 mm (~2 in) wide PVC tape (usually silver in color) with no cloth backing and much weaker clear adhesive. Duck brand cloth-backed tape in Australia is labelled as Power Tape (a purely promotional term), and other cloth-backed tapes are generally labelled as cloth tape or gaffer tape. Despite the official labelling, many Australians still refer to it as Duct tape or gaffer tape.

Names in other countries

Other names for duct tape (including the Scandinavian "Jesus Tape", a name which comes from duct tape's apparent ability to perform miracles) have been documented at length by The Duct Tape Guys.

Color variants

Duct tape is currently available in almost any color from many online retailers and a few stores.
Camouflage duct tape, although hard to find, is available from most military surplus stores and catalogs, and some hunting and fishing supply stores, and is useful making repairs to hunting equipment and other outdoors materials.
3M now sells transparent duct tape. The company claims it lasts longer than regular duct tape while making repairs less obvious.
The Gorilla Glue company recently released Gorilla Tape, an enhanced version of the standard duct tape. By adding more adhesive, and using two offset layers of fibers, the tape is strengthened, but easy to tear horizontally. This product was featured in Popular Science 100 best of what's new innovation award.