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[[Image:Duct-tape.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Powdered aluminum pigment gives duct tape its silvery gray color.]]
{{Short description|Type of adhesive tape}}
'''Duct tape''', or '''duck tape''', is cloth- or [[Scrim (material)|scrim]]-backed [[pressure sensitive tape]] often coated with [[polyethylene]]. There are a variety of constructions using different backings and adhesives. One variation is [[gaffer tape]] designed to be cleanly removed, while duct tape is not. Another variation is heat-resistant duct tape useful for sealing [[HVAC|heating and ventilation]] (HVAC) ducts, produced because standard duct tape fails quickly when used on heating ducts. Duct tape is generally gray or black but also available in other colors.
{{redirect-distinguish|Duck taping|Duck typing}}
[[Image:Duct-tape.jpg|thumb|Powdered aluminum pigment gives traditional duct tape its silvery gray color.]]


'''Duct tape''' (historically and still occasionally referred to as duck tape) is cloth- or [[Scrim (material)|scrim]]-backed [[pressure-sensitive tape]], often coated with [[polyethylene]]. There are a variety of constructions using different backings and adhesives, and the term "duct tape" has been [[genericized]] to refer to different cloth tapes with differing purposes. A variation is heat-resistant foil tape useful for sealing [[HVAC|heating and cooling]] [[duct (flow)|duct]]s, produced because the adhesive on standard duct tape fails and the synthetic fabric reinforcement mesh deteriorates when used on heating ducts.
In 1942 [[Permacel|Revolite]], then a division of [[Johnson & Johnson]], originally developed an adhesive tape made from a [[rubber]]-based [[adhesive]] applied to a durable [[duck cloth]] backing. This tape resisted water and was used as sealing tape on [[ammunition]] cases during [[World War II]].


Duct tape is generally silvery gray in color, but also available in other colors and printed designs, from whimsical yellow ducks, college logos to practical camouflage patterns. It is often confused with [[gaffer tape]] (which is designed to be non-reflective and cleanly removed, unlike duct tape).
== History and etymology ==
The first material called "duck tape" was long strips of plain [[cotton duck]] cloth used in making shoes stronger, for decoration on clothing, and for wrapping steel cables or electrical conductors to protect them from corrosion or wear.<ref>{{cite news |last=Freeman |first=Jan |title=Tale of the tape |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 14, 2010 |url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/03/14/tale_of_the_tape/ |accessdate=September 27, 2012}}</ref> For instance, in 1902, steel cables supporting the [[Brooklyn Bridge]] were first covered in [[linseed oil]] then wrapped in duck tape before being laid in place.<ref name=OED1902>{{Cite news |url=http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?skin=BEagle&AppName=2&GZ=T&BaseHref=BEG%2F1902%2F11%2F21&PageSize=3&enter=true&Page=15 |title=Wrapping on Cables of New East River Bridge |page=15 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=November 21, 1902}} "Considering... that 100,000 yards of cotton duck tape must be wrapped around the cable with neatness and exactitude, it may be imagined that this method of cable preservation is quite expensive."</ref> In the 1910s, certain boots and shoes used canvas duck fabric for the upper or for the insole, and duck tape was sometimes sewn in for reinforcement.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Gw0xAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA27 |title=Increased Use of Fabrics by Shoe Trade |work=Textile World Journal |date=March 27, 1920 |volume=LVII |number=13 |location=New York}}</ref> In 1936, the US-based Insulated Power Cables Engineers Association specified a wrapping of duck tape as one of many methods used to protect rubber-insulated power cables.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=v8mwoTvnA48C&pg=PA716 |page=716 |title=National Directory of Commodity Specifications |author1=United States National Bureau of Standards |author2=Paul A. Cooley |author3=Ann Elizabeth Rapuzzi |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1945 |volume=178 |series=NBS special publication}}</ref> In 1942, [[Gimbel's]] department store offered [[venetian blinds]] that were held together with vertical strips of duck tape.<ref name=Safire2003>{{cite journal |last=Safire |first=William |authorlink=William Safire |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/02/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-3-02-03-on-language-why-a-duck.html |title=The Way We Live Now: On Language; Why A Duck |work=The New York Times Magazine |date=March 2, 2003}}</ref> All of these uses were for plain cotton or linen tape that came without a layer of applied adhesive.


During [[World War II]], [[Permacel|Revolite]] (then a division of [[Johnson & Johnson]]) developed an adhesive tape made from a [[rubber]]-based [[adhesive]] applied to a durable [[duck cloth]] backing. This tape resisted water and was used to seal some [[ammunition]] cases during that period.<ref>
[[Adhesive tape]]s of various sorts were in use by the 1910s, including rolls of cloth tape with adhesive coating one side. White adhesive tape made of cloth soaked in rubber and [[zinc oxide]] was used in hospitals to bind wounds, but other tapes such as friction tape or electrical tape could be substituted in an emergency.<ref>{{cite journal |http://books.google.com/books?id=5SgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA925 |page=925 |title=Friction Tape Used for Plaster Strips |work=Popular Science |month=December |year=1916 |last=Sommer |first=Otto}}</ref> In 1930, the magazine ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'' described how to make adhesive tape at home using plain cloth tape soaked in a heated liquid mixture of [[rosin]] and rubber from [[inner tube]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=nuMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA856 |page=856 |title=Rubber and Rosin Make Compound for Many Uses |work=Popular Mechanics |month=May |year=1930}}</ref>
{{cite web
|url = http://www.kilmerhouse.com/2009/08/duct-tape-invented-here/
|title = Duct Tape: Invented Here!
|last1 = Gurowitz
|first1 = Margaret
|date = August 11, 2009
|website = KilmerHouse.com
|publisher = Johnson & Johnson
|access-date = 10 January 2014
|url-status = live
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140111071248/http://www.kilmerhouse.com/2009/08/duct-tape-invented-here/
|archive-date = 11 January 2014
}}
</ref>


"Duck tape" is recorded in the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' as having been in use since 1899<ref>{{Cite OED|duck tape|id=58180}}</ref> and "duct tape" (described as "perhaps an alteration of earlier duck tape") since 1965.<ref>{{Cite OED|duct tape|id=58203}}</ref>
In 1923, [[Richard Gurley Drew]] working for [[3M]] invented [[masking tape]], a paper-based tape with a mildly sticky adhesive. In 1925 this became the Scotch brand masking tape. In 1930, Drew developed a transparent tape based on [[cellophane]], called [[Scotch Tape]]. This tape was widely used beginning in the [[Great Depression]] to repair household items.<ref name=Carey>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=XKiGgl36bkgC&pg=PA98 |pages=98–99 |last=Carey |first=Charles W. |title=American Inventors, Entrepreneurs, and Business Visionaries |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=0816068836}}</ref> Author [[Scott Berkun]] has written that duct tape is "arguably" a modification of this early success by 3M.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=kPCgnc70MSgC&pg=PA77 |page=77 |last=Berkun |first=Scott |authorlink=Scott Berkun |title=The Myths of Innovation |publisher=O'Reilly Media |year=2010 |isbn=1449389627}}</ref> However, neither of Drew's inventions were based on cloth tape.<ref name=Carey/>


==History==
The [[Permacel|Revolite]] division of [[Johnson & Johnson]] made medical adhesive tapes from duck cloth, beginning in 1927. In 1942 during [[World War II]], a team headed by Revolite's Johnny Denoye and Johnson & Johnson's Bill Gross developed a new adhesive tape for the US military, intended to seal ammunition cases against moisture.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=m6QsJPZcWUUC&pg=PA131 |pages=131–132 |last=Petroski |first=Henry |title=Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design |publisher=Random House Digital |year=2004 |isbn=1400032938}}</ref> The tape was required to be ripped by hand, not cut with scissors. This unnamed product was made of thin cotton duck tape coated in waterproof [[polyethylene]] (plastic) with a layer of rubber-based gray adhesive ("Polycoat") bonded to one side.<ref name=Safire2003/><ref name=Jumbo>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=kwLnBY7mLcIC&pg=PA10 |page=10 |title=The Jumbo Duct Tape Book |first1=Jim |last1=Berg |first2=Tim |last2=Nyberg |publisher=Workman Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=0761121102}}</ref><ref name=Inventions>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=rVQfBSlAZvAC&pg=PA22 |pages=22–23 |first1=David John |last1=Cole |first2=Eve |last2=Browning |first3=Fred E. H. |last3=Schroeder |title=Encyclopedia of Modern Everyday Inventions |year=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |isbn=0313313458}}</ref><ref name=Manco>{{cite web |url=http://www.duckbrand.com/Duck%20Tape%20Club/history-of-duck-tape.aspx |title=History of Duck Tape |publisher=Duck Brand |accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Genericide: When a Brand Name Becomes Generic|url=http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/episode/season-5/2011/05/06/season-five-genericide-when-a-brand-name-becomes-generic-1/|work=Age of Persuasion|publisher=CBC|accessdate=14 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zFimLDoTkZQC&pg=PA18 |page=18 |last=Steele |first=Randy |title=Tale of the Tape |work=Boating |month=July |year=2003 |quote=In 1942 research scientists at Johnson & Johnson sandwiched a layer of mesh fabric—cotton duck—between a top layer of green polyethylene plastic and a bottom layer of rubber glue, and pressed them together.}}</ref> It was easy to apply and remove, and was soon adapted to repair military equipment quickly, including vehicles and weapons.<ref name=Jumbo/> This tape, colored in army-standard matte [[Olive (color)#Olive drab|olive drab]], was nicknamed "duck tape" by the soldiers.<ref name=Forbes>{{cite journal |url=http://www.forbes.com/2006/03/14/tools-duct-tape_cx_de_0315ducttape.html |title=The Other Greatest Tool Ever |last=Ewalt |first=David M. |work=Forbes |date=March 15, 2006 |accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref> Various theories have been put forward for the nickname, including the descendant relation to cotton duck fabric, the waterproof characteristics of a [[duck]] bird, and even the 1942 amphibious military vehicle [[DUKW]] which was pronounced "duck".<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zWzeKxSYaHIC&pg=PT31 |page=31 |last=Kruszelnicki |first=Karl |title=It Ain't Necessarily So... Bro |publisher=HarperCollins Australia |year=2010 |isbn=0730445267 |volume=8 |series=New Moments in Science}}</ref>
[[Image:AS17-137-20979.jpg|thumb|Wheel fender extension to keep down lunar dust improvised using duct tape during the [[Apollo 17]] mission]]


The first material called "duck tape" was long strips of plain non-adhesive [[cotton duck]] cloth used in making shoes stronger, for decoration on clothing, and for wrapping steel cables or electrical conductors to protect them from corrosion or wear.<ref name=Freeman2010>{{cite news |last=Freeman |first=Jan |title=Tale of the tape |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 14, 2010 |url=https://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/03/14/tale_of_the_tape/ |access-date=September 27, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018012538/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/03/14/tale_of_the_tape/ |archive-date=October 18, 2012 }}</ref> For instance, in 1902, steel cables supporting the [[Manhattan Bridge]] were first covered in [[linseed oil]] then wrapped in duck tape before being laid in place.<ref name=OED1902>{{Cite news |url=http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?skin=BEagle&AppName=2&GZ=T&BaseHref=BEG%2F1902%2F11%2F21&PageSize=3&enter=true&Page=15 |title=Wrapping on Cables of New East River Bridge |page=15 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=November 21, 1902 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017204729/http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?skin=BEagle&AppName=2&GZ=T&BaseHref=BEG%2F1902%2F11%2F21&PageSize=3&enter=true&Page=15 |archive-date=October 17, 2012 }} "Considering... that 100,000 yards of cotton duck tape must be wrapped around the cable with neatness and exactitude, it may be imagined that this method of cable preservation is quite expensive."</ref> In the 1910s, certain boots and shoes used canvas duck fabric for the upper or for the insole, and duck tape was sometimes sewn in for reinforcement.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gw0xAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA27 |title=Increased Use of Fabrics by Shoe Trade |journal=Textile World Journal |date=March 27, 1920 |volume=LVII |number=13 |location=New York |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215004421/http://books.google.com/books?id=Gw0xAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA27 |archive-date=December 15, 2013 }}</ref> In 1936, the US-based Insulated Power Cables Engineers Association specified a wrapping of duck tape as one of many methods used to protect rubber-insulated power cables.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v8mwoTvnA48C&pg=PA716 |page=716 |title=National Directory of Commodity Specifications |author1=United States National Bureau of Standards |author2=Paul A. Cooley |author3=Ann Elizabeth Rapuzzi |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1945 |volume=178 |series=NBS special publication |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211093713/http://books.google.com/books?id=v8mwoTvnA48C&pg=PA716 |archive-date=2013-12-11 }}</ref> In 1942, [[Gimbel's]] department store offered [[venetian blinds]] that were held together with vertical strips of duck tape.<ref name=Safire2003>{{cite journal |last=Safire |first=William |author-link=William Safire |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/02/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-3-02-03-on-language-why-a-duck.html |title=The Way We Live Now: On Language; Why A Duck |journal=The New York Times Magazine |date=March 2, 2003 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019164016/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/02/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-3-02-03-on-language-why-a-duck.html |archive-date=October 19, 2017 }}</ref>
After the war, the duck tape product was sold in hardware stores for household repairs. The Melvin A. Anderson Company of [[Cleveland, Ohio]], acquired the rights to the tape in 1950.<ref name=Inventions/> It was commonly used in construction to wrap air ducts.<ref name=Forbes/> Following this application, the name "duct tape" came into use in the 1950s, along with tape products that were colored silvery gray like tin ductwork. Specialized heat- and cold-resistant tapes were developed for heating and air-conditioning ducts. By 1960 a [[St. Louis, Missouri]], HVAC company, Albert Arno, Inc., trademarked the name "Ductape" for their "flame-resistant" duct tape, capable of holding together at 350–400 °F (175–200 °C).<ref>{{cite journal |work=Heating & Air Conditioning Contractor |volume=52 |pages=88, 97 |publisher=Edwin A. Scott Publishing |year=1960}}</ref>


Glue backed or impregnated [[adhesive tape]]s of various sorts were in use by the 1910s, including rolls of cloth tape with adhesive coating one side. White adhesive tape made of cloth soaked in rubber and [[zinc oxide]] was used in hospitals to bind wounds, but other tapes such as [[friction tape]] or [[electrical tape]] could be substituted in an emergency.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5SgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA925 |page=925 |title=Friction Tape Used for Plaster Strips |journal=Popular Science |date=December 1916 |last=Sommer |first=Otto |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215063822/http://books.google.com/books?id=5SgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA925 |archive-date=2013-12-15 }}</ref> In 1930, the magazine ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'' described how to make adhesive tape at home using plain cloth tape soaked in a heated liquid mixture of [[rosin]] and rubber from [[inner tube]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA856 |page=856 |title=Rubber and Rosin Make Compound for Many Uses |journal=Popular Mechanics |date=May 1930 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215002231/http://books.google.com/books?id=nuMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA856 |archive-date=2013-12-15 }}</ref>
In 1971, Jack Kahl bought the Anderson firm and renamed it Manco.<ref name=Inventions/> In 1975, Kahl rebranded the duct tape made by his company. Because the previously used generic term "duck tape" had fallen out of use, he was able to trademark the brand "Duck Tape" and market his product complete with a yellow cartoon duck logo. In 1979, the Duck Tape marketing plan involved sending out greeting cards with the duck branding, four times a year, to 32,000 hardware managers. This mass of communication combined with colorful, convenient packaging helped Duck Tape become popular. From a near-zero customer base Manco eventually controlled 40% of the duct tape market in the US.<ref name=Manco/><ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZHtoPEUNDscC&pg=PA249 |page=249 |first1=Jay Conrad |last1=Levinson |first2=Seth |last2=Godin |title=The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=1994 |isbn=0395700132}}</ref>


In 1923, tape pioneer [[Richard Gurley Drew]] at [[3M]] invented [[masking tape]], a paper-based tape with a mildly sticky adhesive intended to be temporarily used and removed rather than left in place permanently. In 1925, this became the ''Scotch'' brand masking tape. In 1930, Drew developed a transparent [[cellophane]]-based tape, dubbed [[Scotch Tape]]. This tape was widely used beginning in the [[Great Depression]] to repair household items.<ref name=Carey>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKiGgl36bkgC&pg=PA98 |pages=98–99 |last=Carey |first=Charles W. |title=American Inventors, Entrepreneurs, and Business Visionaries |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-0816068838 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213054111/http://books.google.com/books?id=XKiGgl36bkgC&pg=PA98 |archive-date=2013-12-13 }}</ref> Neither of these inventions was based on cloth tape.<ref name=Carey/>
After profiting from Scotch Tape in the 1930s, 3M produced military [[materiel]] during WWII, and by 1946 had developed the first practical vinyl [[electrical tape]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A century of innovation: the 3M story |page=129 |publisher=3M Company |year=2002 |isbn=0972230203}}</ref> By 1977, the company was selling a heat-resistant duct tape for heating ducts.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ieIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA123 |page=77 |title=Home Energy Guide: Insulation |work=Popular Mechanics |month=September |year=1977}}</ref> In the late 1990s, 3M was running a $300&nbsp;million duct tape division, the US industry leader.<ref>{{cite journal |work=The Journal of employee ownership law and finance |volume=9 |page=14 |publisher=National Center for Employee Ownership |year=1997}}</ref> In 2004, 3M invented a transparent duct tape.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3M-Company/Information/Resources/History/ |work=Company Information |title=History |publisher=3M |accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref>

The ultimate wide-scale adoption of duck tape, today generally referred to as duct tape, came from [[Vesta Stoudt]]. Stoudt was worried that problems with ammunition box seals could cost soldiers precious time in battle, so she wrote to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in 1943 with the idea to seal the boxes with a fabric tape which she had tested.<ref>[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1943/10/24/page/1/article/couldnt-keep-her-idea-down "Couldn't Keep Her Idea Down"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506050728/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1943/10/24/page/1/article/couldnt-keep-her-idea-down/ |date=2015-05-06 }}, 24 October 1943, Chicago Tribune</ref> The letter was forwarded to the War Production Board, which put Johnson & Johnson on the job.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kilmerhouse.com/2012/06/the-woman-who-invented-duct-tape/ |title=The Woman Who Invented Duct Tape |last1=Gurowitz |first1=Margaret |date=June 21, 2012 |website=KilmerHouse.com |publisher=Johnson & Johnson |access-date=10 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111053805/http://www.kilmerhouse.com/2012/06/the-woman-who-invented-duct-tape/ |archive-date=11 January 2014 }}</ref> The [[Permacel|Revolite]] division of [[Johnson & Johnson]] had made medical adhesive tapes from duck cloth from 1927 and a team headed by Revolite's Johnny Denoye and Johnson & Johnson's Bill Gross developed the new adhesive tape,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6QsJPZcWUUC&pg=PA131 |pages=131–132 |last=Petroski |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Petroski |title=Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design |publisher=Random House Digital |year=2004 |isbn=1400032938 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210000856/http://books.google.com/books?id=m6QsJPZcWUUC&pg=PA131 |archive-date=2013-12-10 }}</ref> designed to be ripped by hand, not cut with scissors.

Their new unnamed product was made of thin cotton duck coated in waterproof [[polyethylene]] (plastic) with a layer of rubber-based gray adhesive (branded as "Polycoat") bonded to one side.<ref name=Safire2003/><ref name=Jumbo>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/jumboducttapeboo00berg |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/jumboducttapeboo00berg/page/10 10] |title=The Jumbo Duct Tape Book |first1=Jim |last1=Berg |first2=Tim |last2=Nyberg |publisher=Workman Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=0761121102 }}</ref><ref name=Inventions>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVQfBSlAZvAC&pg=PA22 |pages=22–23 |first1=David John |last1=Cole |first2=Eve |last2=Browning |first3=Fred E. H. |last3=Schroeder |title=Encyclopedia of Modern Everyday Inventions |year=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |isbn=0313313458 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213155533/http://books.google.com/books?id=rVQfBSlAZvAC&pg=PA22 |archive-date=2013-12-13 }}</ref><ref name=Manco>{{cite web |url=http://www.duckbrand.com/Duck%20Tape%20Club/history-of-duck-tape.aspx |title=History of Duck Tape |publisher=Duck Brand |access-date=August 27, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812084402/http://www.duckbrand.com/Duck%20Tape%20Club/history-of-duck-tape.aspx |archive-date=August 12, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Genericide: When a Brand Name Becomes Generic|url=http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/episode/season-5/2011/05/06/season-five-genericide-when-a-brand-name-becomes-generic-1/|work=Age of Persuasion|publisher=CBC|access-date=14 May 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514150320/http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/episode/season-5/2011/05/06/season-five-genericide-when-a-brand-name-becomes-generic-1/|archive-date=14 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zFimLDoTkZQC&pg=PA18 |page=18 |last=Steele |first=Randy |title=Tale of the Tape |journal=Boating |date=July 2003 |quote=In 1942 research scientists at Johnson & Johnson sandwiched a layer of mesh fabric—cotton duck—between a top layer of green polyethylene plastic and a bottom layer of rubber glue, and pressed them together. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424075143/https://books.google.com/books?id=zFimLDoTkZQC&pg=PA18 |archive-date=2016-04-24 }}</ref> It was easy to apply and remove and was soon adapted to repair military equipment quickly, including vehicles and weapons.<ref name=Jumbo/> This tape, colored in army-standard matte [[olive drab]], was widely used by the soldiers.<ref name=Forbes>{{cite journal |url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/03/14/tools-duct-tape_cx_de_0315ducttape.html |title=The Other Greatest Tool Ever |last=Ewalt |first=David M. |journal=Forbes |date=March 15, 2006 |access-date=August 27, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911010636/http://www.forbes.com/2006/03/14/tools-duct-tape_cx_de_0315ducttape.html |archive-date=September 11, 2012 }}</ref>
After the war, the duck tape product was sold in hardware stores for household repairs. The Melvin A. Anderson Company of [[Cleveland, Ohio]], acquired the rights to the tape in 1950.<ref name=Inventions/> It was commonly used in construction to wrap air ducts.<ref name=Forbes/> Following this application, the name "duct tape" came into use in the 1950s, along with tape products that were colored silvery gray like tin ductwork. Specialized heat- and cold-resistant tapes were developed for heating and air-conditioning ducts. By 1960, a [[St. Louis, Missouri]], HVAC company, Albert Arno, Inc., trademarked the name "Ductape" for their "flame-resistant" duct tape, capable of holding together at {{convert|350|–|400|°F|°C}}.<ref>{{cite journal |title=|journal=Heating & Air Conditioning Contractor |volume=52 |pages=88, 97 |publisher=Edwin A. Scott Publishing |year=1960}}</ref>

In 1971, [[Jack Kahl]] bought the Anderson firm and renamed it Manco.<ref name=Inventions/> In 1975, Kahl rebranded the duct tape made by his company. Because the previously used generic term "duck tape" had fallen out of use,{{failed verification|reason=this is not from the citation and it contradicts what the citation says is the reason.|date=December 2015}} he was able to trademark the brand "Duck Tape" and market his product complete with a yellow cartoon duck logo. Manco chose the term "Duck", the tape's original name, as "a play on the fact that people often refer to duct tape as 'duck tape{{'"}},<ref name=Levinson>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/guerrillamarketi00levi_0 |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/guerrillamarketi00levi_0/page/249 249] |first1=Jay Conrad |last1=Levinson |first2=Seth |last2=Godin |title=The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=1994 |isbn=0395700132 }}</ref> and as a marketing differentiation to stand out against other sellers of duct tape.<ref>[http://www.sbnonline.com/article/112357/ "John Kahl finds the formula of product, people and partners adheres to success for ShurTech"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208102750/http://www.sbnonline.com/article/112357/ |date=2015-12-08 }}, 1 November 2014, Smart Business</ref><ref>[http://www.shurtech.com/about-us/ "ShurTech About Us"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127145201/http://www.shurtech.com/about-us |date=2015-11-27 }}</ref> In 1979, the Duck Tape marketing plan involved sending out greeting cards with the duck branding, four times a year, to 32,000 hardware managers. This mass of communication combined with colorful, convenient packaging helped Duck Tape become popular. From a near-zero customer base, Manco eventually controlled 40% of the duct tape market in the US.<ref name=Manco/><ref name=Levinson/> Acquired by [[Henkel]] in 1998,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.duckbrand.com/about|title=How Duck Tape® was Named|first=Duck|last=Brand|date=2 May 2019|website=Duck Brand}}</ref> Duck Tape was sold to [[Shurtape Technologies]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shurtech.com/about-us/ |title=ShurTech Brands |website=shurtech.com |access-date=29 January 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318042559/http://www.shurtech.com/about-us |archive-date=18 March 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.shurtape.com/company-history |title=Shurtape Technologies |website=shurtech.com |access-date=29 January 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224121736/https://www.shurtape.com/company-history |archive-date=24 February 2017 }}</ref>
Shurtape went on to introduce a premium version called "T-Rex Tape".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.trextape.com/|title=T-Rex Tape - Strong, Weather-Resistant Duct Tape|first=T.-Rex|last=Tape|date=26 April 2019|website=T-Rex Tape}}</ref> "Ultimate Duck", which had been Henkel's top-of-the-line variety, is still sold in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ducktape.co.uk/products/ultimate-duck-tape-black/|title=ULTIMATE DUCK TAPE® choice of Black, Silver, White, Clear - Ducktape|website=www.ducktape.co.uk|date=8 September 2016 }}</ref> Ultimate Duck, T-Rex Tape, and the competing [[Gorilla Tape]] all advertise "three-layer technology".

After profiting from Scotch Tape in the 1930s, 3M had produced military [[materiel]] during World War II and by 1946 had developed the first practical vinyl [[electrical tape]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A century of innovation: the 3M story |page=129 |publisher=3M Company |year=2002 |isbn=0972230203}}</ref> By 1977, the company was selling a heat-resistant duct tape for heating ducts.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ieIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA123 |page=77 |title=Home Energy Guide: Insulation |journal=Popular Mechanics |date=September 1977 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013011425/http://books.google.com/books?id=ieIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA123 |archive-date=2013-10-13 }}</ref> In the late 1990s, 3M's tape division had an annual turnover of $300&nbsp;million and was the US industry leader.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Journal of Employee Ownership Law and Finance |volume=9 |page=14 |publisher=[[National Center for Employee Ownership]] |year=1997}}</ref> In 2004, 3M released a semi-transparent duct tape, with a clear polyethylene film and white fiberglass mesh.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3M-Company/Information/Resources/History/ |work=Company Information |title=History |publisher=3M |access-date=August 27, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901161011/http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3M-Company/Information/Resources/History/ |archive-date=September 1, 2012 }}</ref>


==Manufacture==
==Manufacture==
{{see also|Chemistry of adhesive tapes#Composition}}
Modern duct tape is made with any one of a variety of loosely woven fabrics to provide strength. The threads or fill yarn of the fabric may be cotton, [[polyester]], [[nylon]], [[rayon]] or [[fiberglass]]. The fabric is a very thin gauze called "[[Scrim (material)|scrim]]" which is laminated to a backing of low density polyethylene (LDPE). The color of the LDPE is provided by various pigments; the usual gray color comes from powdered [[aluminum]] mixed into the LDPE. There are two commonly produced tape widths: {{convert|48|mm|in|abbr=on}} and {{convert|50.8|mm|in|abbr=on|0}}. Other widths are also offered.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wt5qQslgpV0C&pg=PA299 |pages=291–331 |last=Smith |first=Jenny M. |chapter=Forensic Examination of Pressure Sensitive Tape |title=Forensic Analysis on the Cutting Edge: New Methods for Trace Evidence Analysis |editor=Robert D. Blackledge |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2007 |isbn=0471716448}}</ref> The largest rolls of duct tape were made in 2005 for [[Henkel]], with a 3.78" width and a 64" roll diameter, weighing in at 650 pounds.<ref name="Magazine2008">{{cite book|last=Magazine|first=The Editors of Discover|title=Discover's 20 Things You Didn't Know About Everything|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=K_OcMvcqUPIC&pg=PA134|accessdate=31 January 2013|date=2008-07-08|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=9780061734335|pages=134–}}</ref>
Modern duct tape is made variously from cotton, [[polyester]], [[nylon]], [[rayon]] or [[fiberglass]] mesh fabric to provide strength. The fabric, a very thin gauze called "[[Scrim (material)|scrim]]", is laminated to a backing of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The color of the LDPE is provided by various pigments; the usual gray color comes from powdered [[aluminum]] mixed into the LDPE. Two tape widths are common: {{convert|1.9|in|mm|abbr=on}} and {{convert|2|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}. Other widths are also offered.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wt5qQslgpV0C&pg=PA299 |pages=291–331 |last=Smith |first=Jenny M. |chapter=Forensic Examination of Pressure Sensitive Tape |title=Forensic Analysis on the Cutting Edge: New Methods for Trace Evidence Analysis |editor=Robert D. Blackledge |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2007 |isbn=978-0471716440 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213073428/http://books.google.com/books?id=wt5qQslgpV0C&pg=PA299 |archive-date=2013-12-13 }}</ref> The largest commercial rolls of duct tape were made in 2005 for [[Henkel]], with {{convert|3.78|in|cm}} width, a roll diameter of {{convert|64|in|cm}} and weighing {{convert|650|lb|kg}}.<ref name="Magazine2008">{{cite book|title=Discover's 20 Things You Didn't Know About Everything|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_OcMvcqUPIC&pg=PA134|access-date=31 January 2013|date=2008-07-08|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=9780061734335|pages=134–|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012233736/http://books.google.com/books?id=K_OcMvcqUPIC&pg=PA134|archive-date=12 October 2013}}</ref>


== Common uses ==
== Common uses ==
{{expand section|selected cited examples of non-industrial and popular improvised uses|date=September 2020}}

[[File:Transparent duct tape roll.png|thumb|Semi-transparent duct tape]]
Duct tape is commonly used in situations that require a strong, flexible, and very sticky tape. Some have a long-lasting adhesive and resistance to weathering.
Duct tape is commonly used in situations that require a strong, flexible, and very sticky tape. Some have a long-lasting adhesive and resistance to weathering.


A more specialized product, commonly known as [[gaffer tape]], is preferred by [[Gaffer (filmmaking)|gaffer]]s in the theatre, motion picture and television industries, as it does not leave a sticky residue when removed. It comes in a variety of colours, and is more easily torn into thin strips for precise application.
A specialized version, [[gaffer tape]], which does not leave a sticky residue when removed, is preferred by [[Gaffer (filmmaking)|gaffer]]s in the theatre, motion picture and television industries.


=== Ductwork ===
Duct tape, in its guise as "racer's tape", "race tape" or "100 mile an hour tape" has been used in motorsports for more than 40 years to repair fiberglass bodywork (among other uses). Racer's tape comes in a wide range of colors to help match it to common paint colors. In the UK, it is usually referred to as "tank tape" in motorsports use.
The product now commonly called duct tape has largely been displaced in [[HVAC]] uses with specialized foil tapes designed for sealing heating and ventilation ducts (sometimes referred to erroneously as "duct tapes").


Common duct tape carries no safety certifications such as [[Underwriters Laboratories|UL]] or [[California Proposition 65 (1986)|Proposition 65]], which means the tape may burn violently, producing toxic smoke; it may cause ingestion and contact toxicity, it can have irregular mechanical strength, and its adhesive may have low life expectancy.<ref name="lbl"/><ref name="walker"/> Its use in ducts has been prohibited by the state of [[California]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/changeout/ |title=California Energy Commission Title 24 of the Building Energy Efficiency Standards |publisher=Energy.ca.gov |access-date=2009-07-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714033548/http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/changeout/ |archive-date=July 14, 2009 }}</ref> and by building codes in many other places.
=== Usage on ductwork ===
The product now commonly called duct tape should not be confused with special tapes actually designed for sealing [[HVAC|heating and ventilation]] ducts: this is not recommended by manufacturers. 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 was that one should not use common 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 become brittle and may fail.<ref name="lbl">{{cite web|url=http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/duct-tape-HVAC.html|work=[[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory|Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Energy Performance of Buildings Group]]|title=Sealing HVAC Ducts: Use Anything But Duct Tape|date=1998-08-17}}</ref><ref name="walker">{{citation |author=Max Sherman, Lain Walker |title=Can Duct Tape Take the Heat? |publisher=Home Energe Magazine |url=http://www.homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/walls/page/9/id/1400/magazine/110 |accessdate=September 27, 2012}}</ref> Commonly duct tape carries no safety certifications such as [[Underwriters Laboratories|UL]] or [[California Proposition 65 (1986)|Proposition 65]], which means the tape may burn violently, producing toxic smoke; it may cause ingestion and contact toxicity; it can have irregular mechanical strength; and its adhesive may have low life expectancy. Its use in ducts has been prohibited by the state of [[California]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/changeout/ |title=California Energy Commission Title 24 of the Building Energy Efficiency Standards |publisher=Energy.ca.gov |date= |accessdate=2009-07-21}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> and by building codes in most other places in the [[United States|U.S.]] However, metalized and [[aluminum]] tapes used by professionals are still often called "duck/duct tapes".


Research was conducted in 1998 on standard duct tape at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, which concluded that under challenging but realistic conditions duct tape becomes brittle, fails, and may even fall off completely.<ref name="lbl">{{cite web|url=http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/duct-tape-HVAC.html|work=[[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory|Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Energy Performance of Buildings Group]]|title=Sealing HVAC Ducts: Use Anything But Duct Tape|date=1998-08-17|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504043646/http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/duct-tape-HVAC.html|archive-date=2007-05-04}}</ref><ref name="walker">{{citation |author=Max Sherman, Lain Walker |title=Can Duct Tape Take the Heat? |publisher=Home Energe Magazine |url=http://www.homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/walls/page/9/id/1400/magazine/110 |access-date=September 27, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216034927/http://www.homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/walls/page/9/id/1400/magazine/110 |archive-date=February 16, 2013 }}</ref>
=== Usage in spaceflight ===
[[Image:Duct tape apollo17.jpg|thumb|Improvised wheel fender extension via duct tape, [[Apollo 17]].]]
According to [[NASA]] engineer Jerry Woodfill, duct tape had been stowed on board every mission since early in the [[Gemini program|Gemini]] days.{{citation}}
NASA engineers and astronauts have used duct tape in the course of their work, including in some emergency situations. One such usage occurred 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. A workaround used duct tape and other items on board Apollo 13, with the ground crew relaying instructions to the flight crew. The lunar module's CO<sub>2</sub> scrubbers started working again, saving the lives of the three [[astronauts]] on board.


=== Spaceflight ===
Ed Smylie, 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.'"<ref>[http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/space/3139248 Associated Press article], referring to the use of duct tape on Apollo 13.</ref>
{{quote|Interviewer: And duct tape works in the vacuum of space as well as it does here?<br>
Walker: Oh, yes. Yes, it does. It sticks.|[[Charles D. Walker]], describing duct tape's use on [[STS-51-D]]<ref name="walker20050414">{{cite interview |title=Oral History Transcript |date=14 April 2005 |url=https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/WalkerCD/WalkerCD_4-14-05.htm | last=Walker |first=Charles D. |interviewer=Johnson, Sandra |work=NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project}}</ref>}}


According to [[NASA]] engineer Jerry Woodfill duct tape had been stowed on board every mission since early in the [[Gemini program]].<ref name=Atkinson2010>{{Citation
Duct tape was also used aboard [[Apollo 17]] to improvise a repair to a damaged [[Fender (vehicle)|fender]] on the [[lunar rover]], preventing possible damage from the spray of [[lunar dust]] as they drove.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040417.html |title=Lunar Dust and Duct Tape |publisher=Apod.nasa.gov |date= |accessdate=2009-07-21}}</ref>
|title = 13 Things That Saved Apollo 13, Part 10: Duct Tape
|url = http://www.universetoday.com/63673/13-things-that-saved-apollo-13-part-10-duct-tape/
|year = 2010
|author = Atkinson, Nancy
|access-date = 2013-05-30
|url-status = live
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130813115829/http://www.universetoday.com/63673/13-things-that-saved-apollo-13-part-10-duct-tape/
|archive-date = 2013-08-13
}}</ref>


NASA engineers and astronauts have used duct tape in their work, including in some emergency situations. One such usage occurred in 1970 when Woodfill was working in Mission Control, 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. A workaround used duct tape and other items on board Apollo 13, with the ground crew relaying instructions to the flight crew. The lunar module's CO<sub>2</sub> scrubbers started working again, saving the lives of the three [[astronaut]]s on board.
=== Military usage ===

In the U.S. submarine fleet, an adhesive cloth tape is called "EB Green," as the duct tape used by [[Electric Boat]] was green.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=6941912904&f=9741919888&m=55619699301&r=15719659801#15719659801 |title=The EB-Green myth - Topic |work=community.discovery.com |year=2011 [last update] |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> It is also called "duck tape," "riggers' tape," "hurricane tape," or "100-mph tape"<ref name=Airlift>[http://www.airlifttechnologies.com/misc.htm Airlift Technologies] supplier of tape under this name</ref><ref name=NBC>The Medical NBC Battlebook USACHPPM Tech Guide 244 (May 2000) p 1.13</ref>—a name that comes from the use of a specific variety of duct tape that was supposed to hold up to {{convert|100|mph|km/h kn}} winds. The tape is named so because it was used during the Vietnam War to repair helicopter rotor blades, thus earning the name 100-MPH tape.<ref>Vietnam Stories, Army Times (September 1993)</ref> Duct tape was also used during the Vietnam War to balance helicopter rotor blades.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vietnam -- Balancing Rotorblades With Duct Tape |url=http://4thbattalion77thfieldartilleryafa.blogspot.com/2011/06/vietnam-balancing-rotorblades-with-duct.html |date=June 5, 2011 |work=4th Battalion, 77th Field Artillery AFA [blog] |author=Richard T. Edwards}}</ref>
Ed Smylie, 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.'"<ref>[http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/space/3139248 Associated Press article] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050420040225/http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/space/3139248 |date=2005-04-20 }}, referring to the use of duct tape on Apollo 13.</ref>

Duct tape, referred to as "...good old-fashioned American gray tape..."<ref>[https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/21apr_ducttape/ "Moondust and Duct Tape"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816001757/http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/21apr_ducttape/ |date=2011-08-16 }}, April 21, 2008, science.nasa.gov</ref> was used by the [[Apollo 17]] astronauts on the Moon to improvise a repair to a damaged [[Fender (vehicle)|fender]] on the [[Lunar Roving Vehicle|lunar rover]], preventing possible damage from the spray of [[lunar dust]] as they drove.<ref>{{Cite APOD|date=17 April 2004 |title=Lunar Dust and Duct Tape |access-date=2009-07-21}}</ref>

=== Military ===
In the [[Submarines in the United States Navy|US submarine fleet]], an adhesive cloth tape is called "EB Green," as the duct tape used by [[Electric Boat]] was green.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=6941912904&f=9741919888&m=55619699301&r=15719659801#15719659801 |title=The EB-Green myth - Topic |work=community.discovery.com |year=2011 |access-date=30 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928064752/http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=6941912904&f=9741919888&m=55619699301&r=15719659801#15719659801 |archive-date=28 September 2011 }}</ref>{{reliable source|date=February 2018}} It is also called "duck tape", "riggers' tape", "hurricane tape", or "100-mph tape";<ref name=Airlift>[http://www.airlifttechnologies.com/misc.htm Airlift Technologies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220050403/http://www.airlifttechnologies.com/misc.htm |date=2010-12-20 }} supplier of tape under this name</ref><ref name=NBC>The Medical NBC Battlebook USACHPPM Tech Guide 244 (May 2000) p 1.13</ref> a name that comes from the use of a specific variety of duct tape that was supposed to withstand up to {{convert|100|mph|km/h kn|abbr=on}} winds. The tape is so named because it was used during the [[Vietnam War]] to repair or balance helicopter rotor blades.<ref>Vietnam Stories, Army Times (September 1993)</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vietnam -- Balancing Rotorblades With Duct Tape |url=http://4thbattalion77thfieldartilleryafa.blogspot.com/2011/06/vietnam-balancing-rotorblades-with-duct.html |date=June 5, 2011 |work=4th Battalion, 77th Field Artillery AFA [blog] |author=Richard T. Edwards |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602072026/http://4thbattalion77thfieldartilleryafa.blogspot.com/2011/06/vietnam-balancing-rotorblades-with-duct.html |archive-date=June 2, 2012 }}</ref>

=== Alternative uses ===
[[File:Ducttapewallet.JPG|thumb|A wallet constructed mainly from duct tape]]


== Alternative uses ==
Duct tape's widespread popularity and multitude of uses has earned it a strong place in popular culture, and has inspired a vast number of creative and imaginative applications.
Duct tape's widespread popularity and multitude of uses has earned it a strong place in popular culture, and has inspired a vast number of creative and imaginative applications.


[[Duct tape occlusion therapy]] (DTOT) is a method intended to treat [[warts]] by covering them with duct tape for an extended period. The evidence for its effectiveness is poor;<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wenner|first=R |author2=Askari, SK |author3=Cham, PM |author4=Kedrowski, DA |author5=Liu, A |author6=Warshaw, EM|title=Duct tape for the treatment of common warts in adults: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.|journal=Archives of Dermatology|date=March 2007|volume=143|issue=3|pages=309–13|pmid=17372095|doi=10.1001/archderm.143.3.309|doi-access=}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ringold|first=S |author2=Mendoza, JA |author3=Tarini, BA |author4=Sox, C|title=Is duct tape occlusion therapy as effective as cryotherapy for the treatment of the common wart?|journal=Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine|date=October 2002|volume=156|issue=10|pages=975–7|pmid=12361441|doi=10.1001/archpedi.156.10.975|doi-access=}}</ref> thus it is not recommended as routine treatment.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stubbings|first=A|author2=Wacogne, I|title=Question 3. What is the efficacy of duct tape as a treatment for verruca vulgaris?|journal=Archives of Disease in Childhood|date=September 2011|volume=96|issue=9|pages=897–9|pmid=21836182|doi=10.1136/archdischild-2011-300533|s2cid=206853952}}</ref> However, other studies suggest the duct tape treatment is more effective than existing medical options.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=203979|title=The Efficacy of Duct Tape vs Cryotherapy in the Treatment of Verruca Vulgaris|journal=Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine|date=October 2002|volume=156|issue=10|pages=971–974|doi=10.1001/archpedi.156.10.971|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620152942/http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=203979|archive-date=2013-06-20|last2=Spicer|first2=Carole|last3=Fairchok|first3=Mary P.|pmid=12361440|last1=Focht Dr|first1=3rd|doi-access=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=T|first1=Rick |title=10 Medical Uses For Duct Tape|url=https://healthprep.com/technology-health/10-medical-uses-for-duct-tape/10/|website=Healthprep}}</ref> Duct tape is often used in shoe repair due to its resiliency.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sunset.com/travel/hiking-hack-how-duct-tape-saved-my-soles |title=Hiking Hack: How Duct Tape Saved My Sole(s) |work=Sunset |last=McCrea |first=Megan |date=26 September 2017 |access-date=October 31, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://drewsboots.com/content/dos-and-donts-diy-shoe-repair |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101015655/https://drewsboots.com/content/dos-and-donts-diy-shoe-repair |archive-date=2018-11-01 |title=The Do's and Don't's of DIY Shoe Repair |work=Drew's Shoes |access-date=October 31, 2018}}</ref>
[[Henkel]], the manufacturer of Duck brand duct tape (Duck Tape), annually sponsors a competition that offers a college scholarship to the person who creates the most stylish [[prom]] formal wear made from Duck Tape.


Duct tape has been used to temporarily fix Apple's [[iPhone 4]] [[Antennagate|dropped call issue]], as an alternative to Apple's own rubber case.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/13/iphone.4.duct.tape/index.html?hpt=C1 |title=iPhone duct tape fix |publisher=CNN |date=2010-07-13 |access-date=2010-07-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717043712/http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/13/iphone.4.duct.tape/index.html?hpt=C1 |archive-date=2010-07-17 }}</ref>
[[Duct tape occlusion therapy]] (DTOT): is a method intended to treat [[warts]] by covering them with duct tape for an extended period. The evidence for its effectiveness is poor;<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wenner|first=R|coauthors=Askari, SK, Cham, PM, Kedrowski, DA, Liu, A, Warshaw, EM|title=Duct tape for the treatment of common warts in adults: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.|journal=Archives of dermatology|date=2007 Mar|volume=143|issue=3|pages=309–13|pmid=17372095|doi=10.1001/archderm.143.3.309}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ringold|first=S|coauthors=Mendoza, JA, Tarini, BA, Sox, C|title=Is duct tape occlusion therapy as effective as cryotherapy for the treatment of the common wart?|journal=Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine|date=2002 Oct|volume=156|issue=10|pages=975–7|pmid=12361441}}</ref> thus it is not recommended as routine treatment.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stubbings|first=A|coauthors=Wacogne, I|title=Question 3. What is the efficacy of duct tape as a treatment for verruca vulgaris?|journal=Archives of disease in childhood|date=2011 Sep|volume=96|issue=9|pages=897–9|pmid=21836182|doi=10.1136/archdischild-2011-300533}}</ref>


==In popular culture==
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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://frugalliving.about.com/cs/tips/a/ducttape_2.htm |title=archive of defunct About.com Frugal Living Page on Duct Tape |publisher=Web.archive.org |date=2006-04-29 |accessdate=2009-07-21 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060429023929/http://frugalliving.about.com/cs/tips/a/ducttape_2.htm |archivedate = 2006-04-29}}</ref> However it is not recommended, as most adhesives irritate the wound (making them hurt worse) and some can act as anticoagulants.
[[File:120107-LA-USC-UCLA02.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[University of Southern California|USC]]'s ''[[Tommy Trojan]]'' statue wrapped in duct tape to protect it from crosstown football rival [[UCLA]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Pranks a big part of football rivalry |last=Smith |first=Marcia C. |date=28 November 2006 |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2006/11/28/pranks-a-big-part-of-football-rivalry/ |work=The Orange County Register}}</ref>]]
The [[Duct Tape Guys]] (Jim Berg and Tim Nyberg) have written seven books about duct tape, {{as of|2005|lc=y}}. Their books have sold over 1.5 million copies and feature real and unusual uses of duct tape. In 1994 they coined the phrase "it ain't broke, it just lacks duct tape".


The sitcom ''[[The Red Green Show]]''{{'s}} title character often used duct tape (which he dubbed "the handyman's secret weapon") as both a shortcut to proper fastening as well as for unconventional uses. The series sometimes showcased fan duct tape creations. The series had a feature film based on it entitled ''[[Duct Tape Forever]]'' and several VHS/DVD compilations of the show's use of the tape have been released. Since 2000, series star [[Steve Smith (comedian)|Steve Smith]] (as "Red Green") has been the "Ambassador of [[Scotch Tape|Scotch]] Duct Tape" for [[3M]].<ref>[http://www.3m.com/intl/CA/english/about_us/press_releases/pnews00-01-s.html 3M Canada Press Box] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828100449/http://www.3m.com/intl/CA/english/about_us/press_releases/pnews00-01-s.html |date=2008-08-28 }}</ref>
Recently, duct tape has proven to fix Apple's [[iPhone 4]] [[IPhone_4#Antenna|dropped call issue]], as an alternative to Apple's own rubber case.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/13/iphone.4.duct.tape/index.html?hpt=C1 |title=iPhone duct tape fix |publisher=CNN |date=2010-07-13 |accessdate=2010-07-13}}</ref>


The [[Discovery Channel]] series ''[[MythBusters]]'' featured duct tape in a number of myths that involve non-traditional uses. Confirmed myths include suspending a car for a period of time, building a functional cannon, a two-person sailboat, a two-person canoe (with duct tape paddles), a two-person raft, [[Caligae|Roman sandals]], a [[chess set]], a leak proof water canister, rope, a hammock that can support the weight of an adult male, holding a car in place, a bridge that spanned the width of a dry dock, and a full-scale functional [[trebuchet]] with duct tape as the only binder. In the episode "Duct Tape Plane", the MythBusters repaired (and eventually replaced) the skin of a lightweight airplane with duct tape and flew it a few meters above a runway.
[[Image:120107-LA-USC-UCLA02.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[University of Southern California]]'s [[Tommy Trojan]] statue covered in duct tape prior to a football game]]
In 1995, [[Britannia Yacht Club]] in [[Ottawa, Ontario]] hosted its first annual Duct tape challenge, in which boats such as 'Pontiac Pete', 'HMS Anna Nicole' and 'Duck Blind' constructed of unusual materials such as cardboard and duct tape compete for best design, best battleship and seaworthiness.


[[Garrison Keillor]]'s radio show ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]'' included comedic fictional commercials sponsored by the "American Duct Tape Council".
=== In popular culture ===
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 unusual 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 book about lubricant [[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 ranging from fashions to auto repair. The combination of WD-40 and duct tape is sometimes referred to as "the [[redneck]] repair kit".


In 2019 Italian artist [[Maurizio Cattelan]] created a concept art piece titled ''[[Comedian (artwork)|Comedian]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Neil |first=Luke |title=One banana, what could it cost? $120,000 – if it's art |date=6 December 2019 |work=The Guardian |access-date=25 December 2019 |archive-date=30 December 2019 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/06/maurizio-cattelan-banana-duct-tape-comedian-art-basel-miami |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230170749/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/06/maurizio-cattelan-banana-duct-tape-comedian-art-basel-miami |url-status=live}}</ref> involving taping a banana to a wall using silver duct tape. The piece was exhibited briefly at the Art Basel in Miami.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/08/arts/design/banana-removed-art-basel.html |title=Banana Splits: Spoiled by Its Own Success, the $120,000 Fruit Is Gone |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=8 December 2019 |work=The New York Times |access-date=25 December 2019 |archive-date=15 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215171600/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/08/arts/design/banana-removed-art-basel.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
The Canadian sitcom ''[[The Red Green Show]]''{{'s}} title character often used duct tape (which he dubbed "the handyman's secret weapon") as both a shortcut to proper fastening as well as for unconventional uses. The series sometimes showcased fan duct tape creations. The series had a feature film based on it entitled ''[[Duct Tape Forever]]'' and several VHS/DVD compilations of the show's use of the tape have been released. Since 2000, series star [[Steve Smith (comedian)|Steve Smith]] (as Red Green) has been the "Ambassador of [[Scotch Tape|Scotch]] Duct Tape" for [[3M]].<ref>[http://www.3m.com/intl/CA/english/about_us/press_releases/pnews00-01-s.html 3M Canada Press Box]</ref>


==Duct tape alert==
The [[Discovery Channel]] series ''[[MythBusters]]'' has featured duct tape in a number of myths that involve non-traditional uses. Confirmed myths include suspending a car for a period of time, building a functional cannon, a two-person sailboat, a two-person canoe (with duct tape paddles), wearable shoes, a leak proof water canister, rope, a hammock which can support the weight of an adult male, and constructing a bridge that spanned the width of a dry dock. In the episode "Duct Tape Plane," the MythBusters repaired (and eventually replaced) the canopy of a lightweight airplane with duct tape and flew it a few meters above a runway.
[[File:Government issue duct tape.jpg|thumb|Duct tape distributed by [[Skilcraft]], whose primary customer is the U.S. federal government]]
The term ''duct tape alert'' refers to the recommendations made by the U.S. [[Department of Homeland Security]] on February 10, 2003, that Americans should prepare for a biological, chemical, or radiological terrorist attack by assembling a "disaster supply kit", including duct tape and plastic (presumably to attempt to seal one's home against nuclear, chemical, and biological contaminants), among other items.<ref>{{cite web
|title = Biological Weapons Fact Sheet
|publisher = Department of Homeland Security
|url = https://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0083.shtm
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205050131/http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0083.shtm
|archive-date = 2012-02-05
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title = Chemical Weapons Fact Sheet
|publisher = Department of Homeland Security
|url = https://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0084.shtm
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205050138/http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0084.shtm
|archive-date = 2012-02-05
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title = Radiological Dispersion Devices Fact Sheet
|publisher = Department of Homeland Security
|url = https://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0085.shtm
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205050143/http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0085.shtm
|archive-date = 2012-02-05
}}</ref>


The recommendations followed an increase in the Department's [[Homeland Security Advisory System|official threat level]] to "orange", or "high risk", citing "recent intelligence reports".<ref>{{cite web
== Different meaning in Australia and New Zealand ==
|title = Remarks by Secretary Ridge, Attorney General Ashcroft, and Director Mueller
[[Image:Australian duct tape.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Australian "duct tape".]]
|publisher = Department of Homeland Security
The term ''duct tape'' can lead to confusion between people more familiar with the [[North America]]n usage of the term and those from regions such as [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], where a different type of tape is often sold as ''duct tape'': a [[PVC]] tape without a fabric backing.<ref>[http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/office-supplies/packaging-and-mail-room/packaging-tapes/specialty-tapes/st013sr Australian Duct Tape product details]</ref> <!--I hope this citation is sufficient. Not sure how to prove that a given product does not have a particular feature, if an image that looks clear enough to me doesn't demonstrate it. -->
|url = https://www.dhs.gov/xnews/speeches/speech_0088.shtm
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205050148/http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/speeches/speech_0088.shtm
|archive-date = 2012-02-05
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title = Threat Level Raised to Orange
|publisher = Department of Homeland Security
|url = https://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0087.shtm
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205050159/http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0087.shtm
|archive-date = 2012-02-05
}}</ref>

According to press reports, the recommendations caused a surge in demand for duct tape.<ref>{{cite news
|last = Meserve
|first = Jeanne
|date = 2003-02-11
|title = Duct tape sales rise amid terror fears
|publisher = [[CNN|CNN.com]]
|url = http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/11/emergency.supplies
|url-status = live
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051211160646/http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/11/emergency.supplies/
|archive-date = 2005-12-11
}}</ref>

The media sensation surrounding duct tape was fodder for comedians and satirists. Some referred to it as "duct and cover", a reference to [[duck and cover]].


== See also ==
== See also ==
* [[Duct tape alert]]
* [[Speed tape]]
* [[Duct tape occlusion therapy]]
* [[Gaffer tape]]
* [[List of adhesive tapes]]
* [[List of adhesive tapes]]
* [[Speed tape]]


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Specifications==
*[[ASTM International]] ASTM D5486 Standard Specification for Pressure-Sensitive Tape for Packaging, Box Closure, and Sealing, Type IV woven cloth backing
*ASTM D580 Standard Specification for Greige Woven Glass Tapes and Webbings
*ASTM D4514-12 Standard Specification for Friction Tape
*ASTM D2754-10 Standard Specification for High-Temperature Glass Cloth Pressure-Sensitive Electrical Insulating Tape
*MODUK DEF STAN 81-25, EN-Tape Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive (Water Resistant Fabric)
*McDonnell-Douglas DMS1968E
*Lockheed LCP-86-1226-A
*Boeing D 6-8099
*Ford specification ESB-M3G71-B
*etc.

===Books===
* "Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives and Applications", Istvan Benedek, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8247-5059-4}}
* "Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Tapes", J. Johnston, PSTC, 2003, {{ISBN|0-9728001-0-7}}
* "Pressure Sensitive Formulation", I. Benedek, VSP, 2000, {{ISBN|90-6764-330-0}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
<!-- Do Not add Link [[WP:SPAM]] here. This list is not intended to be a vehicle for promoting web sites. Links here should contain valuable information -->
<!-- Do Not add Link [[WP:SPAM]] here. This list is not intended to be a vehicle for promoting web sites. Links here should contain valuable information -->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070327194638/http://ducts.lbl.gov/ducttape/ Duct Sealant Longevity]
* [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.gdead/msg/cb7b5453068f86cc Etymology provided by Jan Freeman, Boston Globe] (reproduced)
* [http://ducts.lbl.gov/ducttape/ Duct Sealant Longevity]
* [http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/duct_tape.html Duct tape not good for ducts] from the [[California Energy Commission]]
{{Commons}}

{{packaging}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Duct Tape}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duct Tape}}
[[Category:Adhesive tape]]
[[Category:Adhesive tape]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1942]]

[[da:Gaffertape]]
[[de:Klebeband#Duct_Tape.2FDuck_Tape]]
[[es:Cinta americana]]
[[fr:Duct tape]]
[[he:נייר דבק]]
[[nl:Duct tape]]
[[ja:ダクトテープ]]
[[pl:Srebrna taśma klejąca]]
[[ru:Сантехнический скотч]]
[[simple:Duct tape]]
[[fi:Ilmastointiteippi]]
[[sv:Vävtejp]]
[[zh:牛皮膠布]]

Latest revision as of 07:59, 30 December 2024

Powdered aluminum pigment gives traditional duct tape its silvery gray color.

Duct tape (historically and still occasionally referred to as duck tape) is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. There are a variety of constructions using different backings and adhesives, and the term "duct tape" has been genericized to refer to different cloth tapes with differing purposes. A variation is heat-resistant foil tape useful for sealing heating and cooling ducts, produced because the adhesive on standard duct tape fails and the synthetic fabric reinforcement mesh deteriorates when used on heating ducts.

Duct tape is generally silvery gray in color, but also available in other colors and printed designs, from whimsical yellow ducks, college logos to practical camouflage patterns. It is often confused with gaffer tape (which is designed to be non-reflective and cleanly removed, unlike duct tape).

During World War II, Revolite (then a division of Johnson & Johnson) developed an adhesive tape made from a rubber-based adhesive applied to a durable duck cloth backing. This tape resisted water and was used to seal some ammunition cases during that period.[1]

"Duck tape" is recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary as having been in use since 1899[2] and "duct tape" (described as "perhaps an alteration of earlier duck tape") since 1965.[3]

History

Wheel fender extension to keep down lunar dust improvised using duct tape during the Apollo 17 mission

The first material called "duck tape" was long strips of plain non-adhesive cotton duck cloth used in making shoes stronger, for decoration on clothing, and for wrapping steel cables or electrical conductors to protect them from corrosion or wear.[4] For instance, in 1902, steel cables supporting the Manhattan Bridge were first covered in linseed oil then wrapped in duck tape before being laid in place.[5] In the 1910s, certain boots and shoes used canvas duck fabric for the upper or for the insole, and duck tape was sometimes sewn in for reinforcement.[6] In 1936, the US-based Insulated Power Cables Engineers Association specified a wrapping of duck tape as one of many methods used to protect rubber-insulated power cables.[7] In 1942, Gimbel's department store offered venetian blinds that were held together with vertical strips of duck tape.[8]

Glue backed or impregnated adhesive tapes of various sorts were in use by the 1910s, including rolls of cloth tape with adhesive coating one side. White adhesive tape made of cloth soaked in rubber and zinc oxide was used in hospitals to bind wounds, but other tapes such as friction tape or electrical tape could be substituted in an emergency.[9] In 1930, the magazine Popular Mechanics described how to make adhesive tape at home using plain cloth tape soaked in a heated liquid mixture of rosin and rubber from inner tubes.[10]

In 1923, tape pioneer Richard Gurley Drew at 3M invented masking tape, a paper-based tape with a mildly sticky adhesive intended to be temporarily used and removed rather than left in place permanently. In 1925, this became the Scotch brand masking tape. In 1930, Drew developed a transparent cellophane-based tape, dubbed Scotch Tape. This tape was widely used beginning in the Great Depression to repair household items.[11] Neither of these inventions was based on cloth tape.[11]

The ultimate wide-scale adoption of duck tape, today generally referred to as duct tape, came from Vesta Stoudt. Stoudt was worried that problems with ammunition box seals could cost soldiers precious time in battle, so she wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943 with the idea to seal the boxes with a fabric tape which she had tested.[12] The letter was forwarded to the War Production Board, which put Johnson & Johnson on the job.[13] The Revolite division of Johnson & Johnson had made medical adhesive tapes from duck cloth from 1927 and a team headed by Revolite's Johnny Denoye and Johnson & Johnson's Bill Gross developed the new adhesive tape,[14] designed to be ripped by hand, not cut with scissors.

Their new unnamed product was made of thin cotton duck coated in waterproof polyethylene (plastic) with a layer of rubber-based gray adhesive (branded as "Polycoat") bonded to one side.[8][15][16][17][18][19] It was easy to apply and remove and was soon adapted to repair military equipment quickly, including vehicles and weapons.[15] This tape, colored in army-standard matte olive drab, was widely used by the soldiers.[20] After the war, the duck tape product was sold in hardware stores for household repairs. The Melvin A. Anderson Company of Cleveland, Ohio, acquired the rights to the tape in 1950.[16] It was commonly used in construction to wrap air ducts.[20] Following this application, the name "duct tape" came into use in the 1950s, along with tape products that were colored silvery gray like tin ductwork. Specialized heat- and cold-resistant tapes were developed for heating and air-conditioning ducts. By 1960, a St. Louis, Missouri, HVAC company, Albert Arno, Inc., trademarked the name "Ductape" for their "flame-resistant" duct tape, capable of holding together at 350–400 °F (177–204 °C).[21]

In 1971, Jack Kahl bought the Anderson firm and renamed it Manco.[16] In 1975, Kahl rebranded the duct tape made by his company. Because the previously used generic term "duck tape" had fallen out of use,[failed verification] he was able to trademark the brand "Duck Tape" and market his product complete with a yellow cartoon duck logo. Manco chose the term "Duck", the tape's original name, as "a play on the fact that people often refer to duct tape as 'duck tape'",[22] and as a marketing differentiation to stand out against other sellers of duct tape.[23][24] In 1979, the Duck Tape marketing plan involved sending out greeting cards with the duck branding, four times a year, to 32,000 hardware managers. This mass of communication combined with colorful, convenient packaging helped Duck Tape become popular. From a near-zero customer base, Manco eventually controlled 40% of the duct tape market in the US.[17][22] Acquired by Henkel in 1998,[25] Duck Tape was sold to Shurtape Technologies in 2009.[26][27] Shurtape went on to introduce a premium version called "T-Rex Tape".[28] "Ultimate Duck", which had been Henkel's top-of-the-line variety, is still sold in the United Kingdom.[29] Ultimate Duck, T-Rex Tape, and the competing Gorilla Tape all advertise "three-layer technology".

After profiting from Scotch Tape in the 1930s, 3M had produced military materiel during World War II and by 1946 had developed the first practical vinyl electrical tape.[30] By 1977, the company was selling a heat-resistant duct tape for heating ducts.[31] In the late 1990s, 3M's tape division had an annual turnover of $300 million and was the US industry leader.[32] In 2004, 3M released a semi-transparent duct tape, with a clear polyethylene film and white fiberglass mesh.[33]

Manufacture

Modern duct tape is made variously from cotton, polyester, nylon, rayon or fiberglass mesh fabric to provide strength. The fabric, a very thin gauze called "scrim", is laminated to a backing of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The color of the LDPE is provided by various pigments; the usual gray color comes from powdered aluminum mixed into the LDPE. Two tape widths are common: 1.9 in (48 mm) and 2 in (51 mm). Other widths are also offered.[34] The largest commercial rolls of duct tape were made in 2005 for Henkel, with 3.78 inches (9.6 cm) width, a roll diameter of 64 inches (160 cm) and weighing 650 pounds (290 kg).[35]

Common uses

Semi-transparent duct tape

Duct tape is commonly used in situations that require a strong, flexible, and very sticky tape. Some have a long-lasting adhesive and resistance to weathering.

A specialized version, gaffer tape, which does not leave a sticky residue when removed, is preferred by gaffers in the theatre, motion picture and television industries.

Ductwork

The product now commonly called duct tape has largely been displaced in HVAC uses with specialized foil tapes designed for sealing heating and ventilation ducts (sometimes referred to erroneously as "duct tapes").

Common duct tape carries no safety certifications such as UL or Proposition 65, which means the tape may burn violently, producing toxic smoke; it may cause ingestion and contact toxicity, it can have irregular mechanical strength, and its adhesive may have low life expectancy.[36][37] Its use in ducts has been prohibited by the state of California[38] and by building codes in many other places.

Research was conducted in 1998 on standard duct tape at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, which concluded that under challenging but realistic conditions duct tape becomes brittle, fails, and may even fall off completely.[36][37]

Spaceflight

Interviewer: And duct tape works in the vacuum of space as well as it does here?
Walker: Oh, yes. Yes, it does. It sticks.

— Charles D. Walker, describing duct tape's use on STS-51-D[39]

According to NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill duct tape had been stowed on board every mission since early in the Gemini program.[40]

NASA engineers and astronauts have used duct tape in their work, including in some emergency situations. One such usage occurred in 1970 when Woodfill was working in Mission Control, 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. A workaround used duct tape and other items on board Apollo 13, with the ground crew relaying instructions to the flight crew. The lunar module's CO2 scrubbers started working again, saving the lives of the three astronauts on board.

Ed Smylie, 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.'"[41]

Duct tape, referred to as "...good old-fashioned American gray tape..."[42] was used by the Apollo 17 astronauts on the Moon to improvise a repair to a damaged fender on the lunar rover, preventing possible damage from the spray of lunar dust as they drove.[43]

Military

In the US submarine fleet, an adhesive cloth tape is called "EB Green," as the duct tape used by Electric Boat was green.[44][unreliable source?] It is also called "duck tape", "riggers' tape", "hurricane tape", or "100-mph tape";[45][46] a name that comes from the use of a specific variety of duct tape that was supposed to withstand up to 100 mph (160 km/h; 87 kn) winds. The tape is so named because it was used during the Vietnam War to repair or balance helicopter rotor blades.[47][48]

Alternative uses

A wallet constructed mainly from duct tape

Duct tape's widespread popularity and multitude of uses has earned it a strong place in popular culture, and has inspired a vast number of creative and imaginative applications.

Duct tape occlusion therapy (DTOT) is a method intended to treat warts by covering them with duct tape for an extended period. The evidence for its effectiveness is poor;[49][50] thus it is not recommended as routine treatment.[51] However, other studies suggest the duct tape treatment is more effective than existing medical options.[52][53] Duct tape is often used in shoe repair due to its resiliency.[54][55]

Duct tape has been used to temporarily fix Apple's iPhone 4 dropped call issue, as an alternative to Apple's own rubber case.[56]

USC's Tommy Trojan statue wrapped in duct tape to protect it from crosstown football rival UCLA[57]

The Duct Tape Guys (Jim Berg and Tim Nyberg) have written seven books about duct tape, as of 2005. Their books have sold over 1.5 million copies and feature real and unusual uses of duct tape. In 1994 they coined the phrase "it ain't broke, it just lacks duct tape".

The sitcom The Red Green Show's title character often used duct tape (which he dubbed "the handyman's secret weapon") as both a shortcut to proper fastening as well as for unconventional uses. The series sometimes showcased fan duct tape creations. The series had a feature film based on it entitled Duct Tape Forever and several VHS/DVD compilations of the show's use of the tape have been released. Since 2000, series star Steve Smith (as "Red Green") has been the "Ambassador of Scotch Duct Tape" for 3M.[58]

The Discovery Channel series MythBusters featured duct tape in a number of myths that involve non-traditional uses. Confirmed myths include suspending a car for a period of time, building a functional cannon, a two-person sailboat, a two-person canoe (with duct tape paddles), a two-person raft, Roman sandals, a chess set, a leak proof water canister, rope, a hammock that can support the weight of an adult male, holding a car in place, a bridge that spanned the width of a dry dock, and a full-scale functional trebuchet with duct tape as the only binder. In the episode "Duct Tape Plane", the MythBusters repaired (and eventually replaced) the skin of a lightweight airplane with duct tape and flew it a few meters above a runway.

Garrison Keillor's radio show A Prairie Home Companion included comedic fictional commercials sponsored by the "American Duct Tape Council".

In 2019 Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan created a concept art piece titled Comedian[59] involving taping a banana to a wall using silver duct tape. The piece was exhibited briefly at the Art Basel in Miami.[60]

Duct tape alert

Duct tape distributed by Skilcraft, whose primary customer is the U.S. federal government

The term duct tape alert refers to the recommendations made by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on February 10, 2003, that Americans should prepare for a biological, chemical, or radiological terrorist attack by assembling a "disaster supply kit", including duct tape and plastic (presumably to attempt to seal one's home against nuclear, chemical, and biological contaminants), among other items.[61][62][63]

The recommendations followed an increase in the Department's official threat level to "orange", or "high risk", citing "recent intelligence reports".[64][65]

According to press reports, the recommendations caused a surge in demand for duct tape.[66]

The media sensation surrounding duct tape was fodder for comedians and satirists. Some referred to it as "duct and cover", a reference to duck and cover.

See also

References

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  3. ^ "duct tape". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
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  5. ^ "Wrapping on Cables of New East River Bridge". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 21, 1902. p. 15. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. "Considering... that 100,000 yards of cotton duck tape must be wrapped around the cable with neatness and exactitude, it may be imagined that this method of cable preservation is quite expensive."
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Specifications

  • ASTM International ASTM D5486 Standard Specification for Pressure-Sensitive Tape for Packaging, Box Closure, and Sealing, Type IV woven cloth backing
  • ASTM D580 Standard Specification for Greige Woven Glass Tapes and Webbings
  • ASTM D4514-12 Standard Specification for Friction Tape
  • ASTM D2754-10 Standard Specification for High-Temperature Glass Cloth Pressure-Sensitive Electrical Insulating Tape
  • MODUK DEF STAN 81-25, EN-Tape Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive (Water Resistant Fabric)
  • McDonnell-Douglas DMS1968E
  • Lockheed LCP-86-1226-A
  • Boeing D 6-8099
  • Ford specification ESB-M3G71-B
  • etc.

Books