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" 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: 1.9 in (48 mm) and 2 in (51 mm). Other widths are also offered.[24] The largest 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).[25]
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 gaffers in the theatre, motion picture and television industries, as it does not leave a sticky residue when removed. It comes in a variety of colors, and is more easily torn into thin strips for precise application.
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 should not be confused with special tapes actually designed for sealing heating and ventilation ducts. 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 had defined duct tape as any fabric-based tape with rubber adhesive). The testing done shows that under challenging but realistic conditions, common duct tapes become brittle and may fail.[26][27]
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. Its use in ducts has been prohibited by the state of California[28] and by building codes in most other places in the US. However, higher quality metallized and aluminum tapes used by professionals for sealing ducts are still often called "duck/duct tapes".
According to NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill, duct tape had been stowed on board every mission since early in the Gemini days.[29] 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 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.'"[30]
Duct tape was also used aboard Apollo 17 to improvise a repair to a damaged fender on the lunar rover, preventing possible damage from the spray of lunar dust as they drove.[31]
In the US submarine fleet, an adhesive cloth tape is called "EB Green," as the duct tape used by Electric Boat was green.[32] It is also called "duck tape", "riggers' tape", "hurricane tape", or "100-mph tape"[33][34]—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 helicopter rotor blades.[35] Duct tape was also used during the Vietnam War to balance helicopter rotor blades.[36]
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.
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 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;[37][38] thus it is not recommended as routine treatment.[39] However, other studies suggest the duct tape treatment is more effective than existing medical options.[40]
Recently, duct tape has been used to temporarily fix Apple's iPhone 4 dropped call issue, as an alternative to Apple's own rubber case.[41]
Some brands of duct tape are triboluminescent and glow blue when the sticky ends are attached and pulled apart. In a vacuum, the energy release is no longer supressed by air molecules and X-rays are generated. This effect can be used to take X-ray photos with a dental X-ray detector.[42]
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
The Duct Tape Guys (Jim Berg and Tim Nyberg) as of 2005[update] 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".
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 (as Red Green) has been the "Ambassador of Scotch Duct Tape" for 3M.[43]
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.
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