On 08/21/2017 07:32 AM, Jules Richardson via cctalk wrote: > And if we're talking WWII, wasn't it duck tape? Duck cloth with an > adhesive layer. "Duct tape" came later... > > I wonder if we're being messed with ;-)
Well, to throw some kerosene on the fire, this from Wikipedia: "According to etymologist Jan Freeman, the story that duct tape was originally called duck tape is "quack etymology" that has spread "due to the reach of the Internet and the appeal of a good story" but "remains a statement of faith, not fact." She notes that duct tape is not made from duck cloth and there is no known primary-source evidence that it was originally referred to as duck tape. Her research does not show any use of the phrase "duck tape" in World War II, and indicates that the earliest documented name for the adhesive product was "duct tape" in 1960. The phrase "duck tape" to refer to an adhesive product does not appear until the 1970s and was not popularized until the 1980s, after the Duck brand became successful and after the New York Times referred to and defined the product under the name "duct tape" in 1973" I prefer gaffer's tape to duct tape for most dry repairs. Doesn't leave a gooey mess behind when removed--and it's much stronger. --Chuck
