Talk:Duct tape

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I heard differently. During WWI there were "Duck Boards" in the bottom of the trenches during trench warfare. I believe they were called this because you walked over them to avoid getting trenchfoot, so it's from the saying "like water off a duck's back." Then they came out with duck tape to seal the soldiers boots, a la a portable duck board, which is why it was called duck tape. I can't seem to find anywhere to verify this though. Alex Krupp 01:19, Sep 1, 2004 (UTC)

See the Globe story below. The "water off a duck's back" thing has been mentioned before (although in a WWII context; I don't think I've ever heard anyone suggest that duct tape dates from WWI) and is generally associated with the dubious etymology exposed in the Globe Story. Without additional evidence, I think the consensus here is that the "duck tape" predating "duct tape" stories are fabricated, or at best conjecture. --Chinasaur 03:01, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)
Also, the WP convention seems generally to be to add new comments to the bottom of talk pages. --Chinasaur 03:03, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)

See the discussion on duct tape in Wiktionary. Neither duck tape nor duct tape seems to be attested before the 70s, and it appears most likely that duct tape came first. In particular, there don't seem to be any verifiable uses of "duck tape" from WWII, contrary to the widely-circulated story. If anyone has firm evidence to the contrary, please post it and let us know. -dmh (full profile on Wiktionary).

Well, it was a nice story wasn't it? I, for one, am somewhat relieved since "duck tape" just sounds stupid to me... Lemme decide whether to revert or reedit; I'll fix it by tomorrow.
Here's a link to a pasted version of the Boston Globe story: http://groups.google.com.au/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=BA92B984.5D51%25nxk%40comcast.net --Chinasaur 19:20, Apr 22, 2004 (UTC)

Apparently there is a minor disagreement about the degree of phonetic similarity between "duct tape" and "duck tape". Someone changed my "same" to "similar", but there really is no way to distinguish unless the speaker actually pronounces the adjacent /t/ sounds separately, which is awkward and very uncommon. I don't know much about tape, but I have studied linguistics. So I will change it back.

--SamuelScarano 18:50, 2004 Aug 26 (UTC)

I was the one that changed it. Commonly here, the t sound is voiced separately, and anyone who says it as "duck tape" would be considered ignorant. (like saying "pitcher" for "picture") Rhymeless 05:31, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Commonly where? In any event, I see now that it was thoughtless of me not to consider dialectic variation. Perhaps my blunder is mitigated, however, by the fact that duct tape is an American inventon and vaguely associated with American culture. Also, I have a hunch that my statement holds true of most English dialects, even though speakers often wouldn't realize it -- these things are often counterintuitive. (In fact, to the best of my knowledge, double-consonants tend to merge in many if not most languages.) --SamuelScarano 01:55, 2004 Sep 6 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] No picture?!

Mark Richards 18:53, 28 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Duck tape

Hasn't anyone heard? 'Duct tape' is distinct from 'duck tape' in that 'duck tape' is prehistoric, and made of flattened ducks. Prehistoric nerds used it to repair their glasses!

ductapedaredevil

[edit] It was duck tape first

During WWII the tape was created for the military, and was used for water-proofing ammunition casings, among other things. It had yet to be used for ducts. It became known as duck tape due to it being made using cotton duck and for being waterproof. After the war it became popular in housing, for sealing seams in air ducts. So, it became known as duct tape, but the brand became Duck Tape. --brian0918™ 02:46, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

To quote from further up the page: In particular, there don't seem to be any verifiable uses of "duck tape" from WWII, contrary to the widely-circulated story. If anyone has firm evidence to the contrary, please post it and let us know. Can you provide sources? A search at the USPTO doesn't turn up anything earlier than 1981! -- Perey 10:43, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Evidence

I did a search for the phrase "duck tape" on Ancestry.com in all the newspapers in their collection, between 1900 and 1950, and came up with these results:
  • Berkshire Evening Eagle, The (Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts)
  • Bridgeport Telegram, The (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
  • Delta Herald and Times (Delta, Pennsylvania) 2 results
  • Dixon Evening Telegraph (Dixon, Illinois) 3 results
  • Lethbridge Herald (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada)
  • Mansfield News Journal (Mansfield, Ohio) 2 results
  • Marion Star, The (Marion, Ohio) 3 results
  • Waterloo Daily Courier (Waterloo, Iowa)
  • Zanesville Signal, The (Zanesville, Ohio)
You have to pay to see all of these results, but here are a select few:
Berkshire Evening Eagle, The (Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts).png

From Berkshire Evening Eagle, The (Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts), 21 July 1949
Bridgeport Telegram, The (Bridgeport, Connecticut) .png

Bridgeport Telegram, The (Bridgeport, Connecticut) on 25 November 1947
Waterloo Daily Courier (Waterloo, Iowa).png

Waterloo Daily Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) on 08 January 1947
William Safire (famous writer for New York Times) also gave the etymology [1]:
"The original name of the cloth-backed, waterproof adhesive product was duck tape, developed for the United States Army by the Permacel division of Johnson & Johnson to keep moisture out of ammunition cases. The earliest civilian use I can find is in an advertisement by Gimbels department store in June 1942 (antedating the O.E.D. entry by three decades -- nobody but nobody beats this column), which substitutes our product for the "ladder tape" that usually holds together Venetian blinds. For $2.99, Gimbels -- now defunct -- would provide blinds "in cream with cream tape or in white with duck tape."
In 1945, a government surplus property ad in The Times offered 44,108 yards of "cotton duck tape." The first citation I can find for the alternative spelling is in 1970, when the Larry Plotnik Company of Chelsea, Mass., went bust and had to unload 14,000 rolls of what it advertised as duct tape. Three years later, The Times reported that to combat the infiltration of cold air, a contractor placed "duct tape -- a fiber tape used to seal the joints in heating ducts -- over the openings."
According to OED, the original term was "duck tape":
The entry for "duct tape" states:
duct tape orig. N. Amer. [perh. an alteration of earlier *duck tape s.v. DUCK n.3], a strong cloth-backed waterproof adhesive tape, originally used for sealing joints in heating and ventilation ducts, and (later) for holding electrical cables securely in place, now in widespread general use esp. to repair, secure, or connect a range of appliances, fixtures, and equipment; cf.
The entry for "duck tape" states:
duck tape, a strong adhesive tape made of waterproofed cotton fabric (a proprietary name in the United States); cf. *duct tape s.v. DUCT n.

--BRIAN0918

[edit] Camouflage

Did anyone catch the Camouflage comment:

"Camouflage duct tape, although hard to find, is useful making repairs to hunting equipment and other outdoors materials."

If that was unintentional, then it's even funnier!

Excellent! I didn't actually notice that, but very funny none the less. If only more Wikipedia articles had such gems.
I believe I wrote that text... although I didn't think twice about it when I wrote it, now that I think about it that's hilarious. --TexasDex 00:40, August 26, 2005 (UTC)
It is... shall we say... "difficult to locate stores wich carry the camouflage duct tape". i found it once... soldierx40k 19:56, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Duck tape = Gaffer Tape? Duct tape is different

The tape that gets used to tape up ducts (Duct tape) has no cloth component. The two inch wide plastic-coated cloth tape is "Gaff tape". Ask anyone from theatre or film industries. Also called Hundred-Mile-an-Hour tape in racing circles.

The near-homonym duck-duct causes much confusion.

The picture attached to this entry is quite definitely "Gaff tape" --Myk 07:00, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

  • Regardless of what it is now called, it was originally called "duck tape". — BRIAN0918 • 2005-12-9 18:12

"Gaff tape" actually has different glue properties than duc* tape. It is often used by theatre folks, who are ultra-paranoid about marking up their priceless stage floors and whatnot. However, I think this is drifting into regional dialects... thats just what gaff tape means *here*.

Where is 'here'? This needs to be cleared up. There are two types of tape; with plastic and cloth backing. And there are the two names. Here in the Netherlands, the term gaffer tape is used for the stuff with cloth backing (because it's used by gaffers). The stuff with the plastic backing on the photograph I only know as a cheap alternative that is hard to remove and leaves a gooey mess (quite the opposite of gaffer tape on both acoounts, for obvious reasons). Or are there better alternatives? By the way, this stuff does have some cloth in the backing, but gaffer tape is pure cloth (finely woven). Anyway...
Is this a Europe / North America difference? Or do the two names signify a difference in material? Or does the name depend on where and by whom it is used (eg, by a gaffer or a plumber). Or (the least attractive alternative) is it a combination of the three? Whichever it is, this should be addressed in the article.
Image-googling suggests that the name 'duct tape' is used for the silvery plastic stuff and 'gaffer tape' for both. Although, if the search is limited to the '.uk' tld, gaffer tape seems to be what I call that (the cloth backing). DirkvdM 12:54, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

"Here" is USA. Also, see the wikipedia entry on Gaffer tape... it mentions the different adhesive/residue properties.

"Here" for me is Australia, and the definitions here are as follows: Gaff tape (sold as Cloth Tape in Australia) - Strong white-coloured adhesive on a finely woven cloth base, sealed with a thin layer of plastic, which can be any colour, though black is predominate. Duct Tape Less efficient clear adhesive which leaves nasty residue after some time, PVC tape body. Duct tape is designed to be used once in situations where it will lie basically undisturbed. Gaff tape is designed for situations where maximum strength is required. Gaff tape is what race car pit crews use to hold together broken fairings. Myk 01:17, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Astronaut?

"The astronaut, Eric Gloom, used duct tape to patch a small penetration in the ship's hull during a routine landing."

As there was no reference to what ship was that, I googled for the astronaut's name.

"Your search - "Eric Gloom" - did not match any documents."

Therefore, I believe that part is fake. - 201.9.22.39 01:45, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

With the Astronaut -- I believe it is Apollo 13, the CO2 scrubber issue was one of the isssues in the Tom Hanks Movie.

[edit] Duct taping keeks after the show???

What are keeks? And why would musicians want to tape them? --Slashme 14:32, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] So how's it used?

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

The article does not go on to explain how musicians and film/theatre crews use duct tape. I think it should, because merely saying "They use duct tape too!" doesn't really say much. - furrykef (Talk at me) 17:45, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV the etymology

The story about this product originally being called "duck tape" is not verifiable by any primary sources. It should not be listed here as fact. It certainly should not be stated that it was "developed under the name Duck Tape" as that is blatantly untrue. OED only lists it as "perhaps" an alteration of the earlier "duck tape." No researcher has ever found any documented use of the word "duck" to describe the product this article is about, except for sources dated well after the use of "duct" and after the acknowlegement by the Duck Tape brand company that "duck" was a mispronunciation of "duct" and that they capitalized on it.

I would like to build some consensus here before making any edits. I propose the following:

1) Duck tape should not redirect. Duck tape is a centuries-old fabric product used in blinds and other products. That is not the product this article is about. The redirect makes it impossible for there to ever be a stub on the original duck tape. Duck tape should be a disambiguation page with two options.

  • An alternative spelling, brand name, and possible etymological origin of the adhesive product duct tape.
  • A strip of cotton duck fabric

2) In this article, all assertions of etymological origins should be removed, and a new section should be created called "Etymology." It will cover the two competing beliefs on what this product was originally called. In a nutshell, one camp believes that the previous existence of a different fabric cloth tape called "duck tape," which the OED cites as "perhaps" the origin of duct tape, in combination with a popular tale about WWII Army soldiers comparing the invention's waterproof qualities to that of a duck, proves that the original name of the product was duck tape (despite those two stories being contradictory). The other camp believes in a more conservative etymology, noting that documented use of the word "duct" known to describe the product in question predates any use of the word "duck" to describe the same, by many years, and also accepts the simpler explanation that people have just confused the effectively identical pronunciation of two similar but unrelated products.

See an example of the alternative etymology here.[2]

Thoughts? --The Yar 02:06, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

  • Did you see any of my sources above??? William Safire is definitely a reliable source... Also, I quoted the OED above; they don't say it is "perhaps" the origin; they say that the term "duct tape" comes "from the earlier duck tape". — BRIAN0918 • 2006-10-11 02:16Z
    • Yes, I'm very familiar with the article. Did you read my source? Safire cites the same two things I've already mentioned: 1) The previous existence of a different product called "duck tape" and 2) the unverifiable Johnson & Johnson folktale. A letter was written in response to Safire's article, attempting to clarify that the J&J tale was in fact folk etymology. Even Safire would admit that there is no documented use of the word "duck" to name this product until well after it was commonly known as duct tape. Also, perh. is an abbreviation for "perhaps." It says it is perhaps an alteration of it; it does not say that it is from it. --The Yar 02:23, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

After further review, it seems that the consensus already exists. With a single exception, all users on both this discussion page and the Wiktionary discussion page agree that the "duck tape" story is a hoax. I plan to make some changes to reflect the duck tape story more appropriately. (one more note - cotton duck is not and was never used to make duct tape) --The Yar 20:46, 11 October 2006 (UTC)


[edit] sweet

That's totally awesome that the red green show is in the see also department, that's totally awesome, in fact that's actully what I came here to add but someone beat me to it. TotallyTempo 16:46, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] No need for NPOV treatment for etymology

The Duck Products company itself explains that it took the name "Duck Tape" from the earlier term "duct tape," according to its own account on its Duck Tape Club site. They don't even call it "duck tape" generically: they call it "Duck® brand duct tape" or, informally, "Duck Tape". They would know, wouldn't they? —Largo Plazo 11:48, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rewording "Unusual Uses"

I personally think that it is more appropriate and fitting if the "Unusual Uses" section was re-phrased to be "Alternative Uses". Does anyone object? I'm going to change it. If anyone feels like it shouldn't have changed I guess post here and we'll discuss it? --FiftyOneWicked 05:47, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Uncommon common uses

Uses aboard NASA space flights do not belong in the section on Common Uses. —Largo Plazo 18:33, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] DucTape Innovations

[3] It needs in because it has instruction videos! where else can you find how to make a wallet in step by step videos! Ductapeinnovations 02:55, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Well [4] has picture tutorials on a lot more than just a rose, wallet, and bookmark, but it got removed, so no, it doesn't need in. PhirePhly (talk) 05:31, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Pressure sensitive

The article says "strong, fabric-based, multi-purpose pressure-sensitive adhesive tape". What pressure sensitivity does this tape have? 89.240.60.214 21:23, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

see Pressure sensitive adhesive. The bond is affected by the amount of pressure used to rub the tape onto the surface. Pkgx July 16, 07

[edit] External Links

An excellent addition to this article would be How to Conveniently Carry Duct Tape Everywhere. Clearly, readers on this page are interested in duct tape - this is a non-commerical solution to the problem of not having it when it is needed. This would be highly valued by many readers of the page. Therefore, I ask if anyone objects to its inclusion in the external links section. Please keep in mind that a site about a duct tape coffin, and protesters against conservative art are linked here. CanDo 17:30, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

The site has Google ads (and you've canvassed numerous other pages petitioning it's inclusion). Please do not add it. OhNoitsJamie Talk 18:03, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More conventional uses?

Maybe more "conventional" uses for duct tape should be mentioned? Here is mine:

In South Africa, duct tape is sometimes nicknamed "boereband" (Afrikaans for roughly farmer's tape") because many farmers use it abundantly to repair all sorts of equipment.

Please add it if your think it is worthy of addition. -HannesJvV- 17:18, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] This looks like an ad for 3M's clear duct tape

seriously, did some guy from 3M edit this page? AD AD AD —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.74.80.112 (talk) 19:10, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] iPod Cover

That image sucks! Clearly a poor example of duct tape extravagance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Richardshelly (talk • contribs) 14:19, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Have to agree. It doesn't deserve to be there. Not funny. And I was thinking this first. Bitwiseb 14:26, 17 October 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, I took care of it. It's just silly amateurish work that somebody thought was funny.--AyrtonSenna (talk) 20:33, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Australian Duct Tape

I would really appreciate it if people stop diluting the factual statement about the quite different tape that is labelled in Australian stores as "duct tape". If you buy something labelled "duct tape" in Australia, it will not be the same as the US duct tape.

It is really irrelevant to this fact that many people in Australia think of the US duct tape when they say "duct tape". The term "duct tape" refers to a completely different in tape in Australia, officially. Opinions and usage is a separate matter, covered at the end of the section. Myk (talk) 07:52, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Different names, NO citations...

I don't think that a whole section should be allowd to remain in an article if it has no citations... ```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.52.228.218 (talk) 17:32, 14 December 2007 (UTC)