I’m just thinking of all the places we have too much duct tape in our lives. Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of “Splendid Table” on National Public Radio.
This kitchen guru makes this observation after Chanson Goodson, from Paul Quinn College in Dallas, TX, says, “I'm in school currently for legal studies. As you know, law is everywhere. I found out that I'm more interested in agricultural law, trying to fight for small farms and ranches. I've had a conversation with one of my staff members at school; they wanted me to be a farm lobbyist because I like to deal with things in a political sense. Even though I do like being hands-on, I like to make sure the problem is fixed instead of putting duct tape on it. I would like to actually mend the problem.”
Representatives from this small Dallas college were guests on Kasper’s weekly show because this staff has converted its football field into “The We Over Me Farm.”
Under the guidance of a farm manager, this organic experiment is operated entirely by student-employees. The school’s website explains, “Located in a federally-recognized food desert, the Farm has produced and provided more than 30,000 pounds of organic produce since its inception in March 2010, and no less than 10% of this produce has been donated to neighborhood charitable organizations. The rest supports community members, the College, and restaurants and grocers throughout Dallas.”
While I was very impressed by this innovative idea in my native Dallas, Kasper’s response to the young man’s fervor about “fixing a problem, not duct taping it,” captured my attention.
After all, duct tape is a major staple in our household. Our grandchildren laugh out loud every time they see the tennis shoes that their grandfather uses for yard work; he has duct taped the soles to the upper part of this footwear. He uses duct tape to mend holes in his cast net. We have often told the story about the time that the glass top on our ancient coffee percolator broke in half. My husband taped the two parts together and this wedding present from the mid-20th century kept on perking until we finally disposed of it after a half century of use. I cannot begin to list all the times that he has kept an item functional with a little duct tape.
History
During World War II, Johnson and Johnson, Permacel Division, developed an all purpose adhesive for the military which had requested a waterproof tape that could be used to keep moisture out of ammunition cases. The original product came only in army green and was dubbed “duck” tape by the soldiers because of its color and “water off the back” status. This original product was made of cotton duct strips coated in plastic.
According to a history compiled by Daven Hiskey for the “Today I Found Out” webpage, soldiers soon noticed that the product also worked in repairing all kinds of problems from jeeps to wounds, a use that prompted the company to develop a similar product specifically for medical purposes. As the soldiers returned home, they brought their “Duck” tape with them. Developers and home manufacturers saw the tape’s many advantages, especially for connecting heating and air-conditioning ducts. The manufacturer saw a new market, changed the color to silver and labeled it “Duct Tape.”
It wasn’t long before researchers realized that this product, used in this manner, became brittle and failed quickly. “Duct tape can also catch on fire, just smolder and produce toxic smoke,” Hiskey says. Today, most building codes prohibit its use for taping ducts.
In any Internet search about duct tape, one continuously stumbles over this “famous quote” by a not so famous speaker. “One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop.” –G. Weilacher, whoever he is. Even the Ohio Tool Collectors Association includes his words of wisdom.
Of course, duct tape accompanied the astronauts on Apollo 13’s fateful voyage; it was one of several “tools” put into action to bring the crew home safely. Ed Smylie, NASA engineer, said later that he knew the problem was solvable when it was confirmed that duct tape was on board. “I felt like we were home free. One thing a Southern boy will never say is, ‘I don’t think duct tape will fix it.'”
Today, more than eight companies produce a duct tape product including Gorilla Glue Brand which has doubled the layers of fibers. However, the largest distributor is “Duck” brand duct tape, manufactured by Shurtape Technologies in Hickory, North Carolina.
And its newest television ad certainly makes me smile. A little girl in a hardware store picks up the package, reads the label and declares, “Who wants to tape a duck?”
Who indeed!
Despite all of the praise for this adhesive tape and its impressive history, Kasper still makes a valid point about society and its problems. All too often, folks in general, politicians in particular, merely try to patch a problem rather than find and fund viable solutions. For these issues, unfortunately duct tape never will work; study, diligence and more times than not, compromise, can answer the call.
2016
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