Duct tape

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"Duck taping" redirects here. Not to be confused with Duck typing.
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

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

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

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

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
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

See also:
Chemistry of adhesive tapes § Composition

Modern duct tape is made variously from cotton,

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,

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

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

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..."

lunar dust as they drove.[43]

Military

In the

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.

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

dropped call issue, as an alternative to Apple's own rubber case.[56]

In popular culture

UCLA[57]

The Duct Tape Guys (Jim Berg and Tim Nyberg) have written seven books about duct tape, as of 2005. 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".

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".

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.[59][60][61]

The recommendations followed an increase in the Department's official threat level to "orange", or "high risk", citing "recent intelligence reports".[62][63]

According to press reports, the recommendations caused a surge in demand for duct tape.[64]

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

  1. ^ Gurowitz, Margaret (August 11, 2009). "Duct Tape: Invented Here!". KilmerHouse.com. Johnson & Johnson. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  2. ^ "duck tape". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. ^ "duct tape". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ Freeman, Jan (March 14, 2010). "Tale of the tape". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  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."
  6. ^ "Increased Use of Fabrics by Shoe Trade". Textile World Journal. LVII (13). New York. March 27, 1920. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013.
  7. ^ United States National Bureau of Standards; Paul A. Cooley; Ann Elizabeth Rapuzzi (1945). National Directory of Commodity Specifications. NBS special publication. Vol. 178. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 716. Archived from the original on 2013-12-11.
  8. ^ a b Safire, William (March 2, 2003). "The Way We Live Now: On Language; Why A Duck". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017.
  9. ^ Sommer, Otto (December 1916). "Friction Tape Used for Plaster Strips". Popular Science: 925. Archived from the original on 2013-12-15.
  10. ^ "Rubber and Rosin Make Compound for Many Uses". Popular Mechanics: 856. May 1930. Archived from the original on 2013-12-15.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-0816068838. Archived
    from the original on 2013-12-13.
  12. ^ "Couldn't Keep Her Idea Down" Archived 2015-05-06 at the Wayback Machine, 24 October 1943, Chicago Tribune
  13. ^ Gurowitz, Margaret (June 21, 2012). "The Woman Who Invented Duct Tape". KilmerHouse.com. Johnson & Johnson. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  14. ISBN 1400032938. Archived
    from the original on 2013-12-10.
  15. ^
    ISBN 0761121102
    .
  16. ^
    ISBN 0313313458. Archived
    from the original on 2013-12-13.
  17. ^ a b "History of Duck Tape". Duck Brand. Archived from the original on August 12, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  18. ^ "Genericide: When a Brand Name Becomes Generic". Age of Persuasion. CBC. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  19. ^ Steele, Randy (July 2003). "Tale of the Tape". Boating: 18. Archived from the original on 2016-04-24. 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.
  20. ^ a b Ewalt, David M. (March 15, 2006). "The Other Greatest Tool Ever". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  21. ^ Heating & Air Conditioning Contractor. 52. Edwin A. Scott Publishing: 88, 97. 1960. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ^
    ISBN 0395700132
    .
  23. ^ "John Kahl finds the formula of product, people and partners adheres to success for ShurTech" Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, 1 November 2014, Smart Business
  24. ^ "ShurTech About Us" Archived 2015-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Brand, Duck (2 May 2019). "How Duck Tape® was Named". Duck Brand.
  26. ^ "ShurTech Brands". shurtech.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Shurtape Technologies". shurtech.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  28. ^ Tape, T.-Rex (26 April 2019). "T-Rex Tape - Strong, Weather-Resistant Duct Tape". T-Rex Tape.
  29. ^ "ULTIMATE DUCK TAPE® choice of Black, Silver, White, Clear - Ducktape". www.ducktape.co.uk. 8 September 2016.
  30. ISBN 0972230203
    .
  31. ^ "Home Energy Guide: Insulation". Popular Mechanics: 77. September 1977. Archived from the original on 2013-10-13.
  32. ^ The Journal of Employee Ownership Law and Finance. 9. National Center for Employee Ownership: 14. 1997. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. ^ "History". Company Information. 3M. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  34. ISBN 978-0471716440. Archived
    from the original on 2013-12-13.
  35. ISBN 9780061734335. Archived
    from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  36. ^ a b "Sealing HVAC Ducts: Use Anything But Duct Tape". Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Energy Performance of Buildings Group. 1998-08-17. Archived from the original on 2007-05-04.
  37. ^ a b Max Sherman, Lain Walker, Can Duct Tape Take the Heat?, Home Energe Magazine, archived from the original on February 16, 2013, retrieved September 27, 2012
  38. ^ "California Energy Commission Title 24 of the Building Energy Efficiency Standards". Energy.ca.gov. Archived from the original on July 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  39. ^ Walker, Charles D. (14 April 2005). "Oral History Transcript". NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project (Interview). Interviewed by Johnson, Sandra.
  40. ^ Atkinson, Nancy (2010), 13 Things That Saved Apollo 13, Part 10: Duct Tape, archived from the original on 2013-08-13, retrieved 2013-05-30
  41. ^ Associated Press article Archived 2005-04-20 at the Wayback Machine, referring to the use of duct tape on Apollo 13.
  42. ^ "Moondust and Duct Tape" Archived 2011-08-16 at the Wayback Machine, April 21, 2008, science.nasa.gov
  43. ^ Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (17 April 2004). "Lunar Dust and Duct Tape". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  44. ^ "The EB-Green myth - Topic". community.discovery.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  45. ^ Airlift Technologies Archived 2010-12-20 at the Wayback Machine supplier of tape under this name
  46. ^ The Medical NBC Battlebook USACHPPM Tech Guide 244 (May 2000) p 1.13
  47. ^ Vietnam Stories, Army Times (September 1993)
  48. ^ Richard T. Edwards (June 5, 2011). "Vietnam -- Balancing Rotorblades With Duct Tape". 4th Battalion, 77th Field Artillery AFA [blog]. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012.
  49. PMID 17372095
    .
  50. PMID 12361441
    .
  51. S2CID 206853952
    .
  52. PMID 12361440. Archived from the original on 2013-06-20.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  53. ^ T, Rick. "10 Medical Uses For Duct Tape". Healthprep.
  54. ^ McCrea, Megan (26 September 2017). "Hiking Hack: How Duct Tape Saved My Sole(s)". Sunset. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  55. ^ "The Do's and Don't's of DIY Shoe Repair". Drew's Shoes. Archived from the original on 2018-11-01. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  56. ^ "iPhone duct tape fix". CNN. 2010-07-13. Archived from the original on 2010-07-17. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  57. ^ Smith, Marcia C. (28 November 2006). "Pranks a big part of football rivalry". The Orange County Register.
  58. ^ 3M Canada Press Box Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine
  59. ^ "Biological Weapons Fact Sheet". Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05.
  60. ^ "Chemical Weapons Fact Sheet". Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05.
  61. ^ "Radiological Dispersion Devices Fact Sheet". Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05.
  62. ^ "Remarks by Secretary Ridge, Attorney General Ashcroft, and Director Mueller". Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05.
  63. ^ "Threat Level Raised to Orange". Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05.
  64. ^ Meserve, Jeanne (2003-02-11). "Duct tape sales rise amid terror fears". CNN.com. Archived from the original on 2005-12-11.

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Duct tape.
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