WorldWide Drilling Resource

24 SEPTEMBER 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Duck Tape or Duct Tape? Compiled by Bonnie Love, Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® It’s in just about every household and is used to fix just about anything, from holding your shoe or car together, to making a quick hem or bandaid, some even say it gets rid of warts. Yup, it’s duck tape, or is it duct tape? My sonAaron and I had a debate over this issue, so I did a little research. What I discovered was sur- prising and I figured history month would be the perfect time to share this informa- tion with WWDR readers. In 1943, during the height of World War II, a mother of two Navy men went to work in the Green River ordnance Plant in Illinois. Vesta Stoudt’s job was to inspect and pack cartridges used to launch rifle grenades used by soldiers in theArmy and Navy. The cartridges were packed in a box which would be taped and waxed to make them waterproof. The box flaps were sealed with thin paper tape and a tab of tape was left loose so it could be pulled to release the wax coating and open the box quickly. The problemwas the thin paper tape wasn’t strong enough, and the tabs often tore off when soldiers pulled on them, leaving them frantically scrambling to rip the boxes open while under enemy fire. Mrs. Stoudt came up with a solution. She suggested using a strong cloth tape to close the seams, and make the tab of the same material. She showed her idea to different government inspectors and supervisors, and although they said it worked and it was a good idea, they never changed the tape. Bound and determined to prove there was a better way, she decided to take her suggestion all the way to the top. She wr o t e a letter to President Fr ank l i n De l ano Roosevelt saying, I have two sons out there some where, one in the Pacific Islands, the other one wi t h t he At l an t i c Fleet. You have sons in the service also. We can’t let them down by giving them a box of cartridges that takes a minute or more to open, the enemy taking their lives, that could have been saved. Roosevelt sent her letter, which in- cluded a diagram of her idea, to the War Production Board in Washington, DC, and a few weeks later, she received a reply saying her idea would be considered and was being forwarded to the appro- priate division. The War Production Board now had the task of finding a company to put Mrs. Stoudt’s idea into production. They decid- ed to ask Permacell, a division of Johnson and Johnson company, which had a great deal of experience making surgical adhesive tapes. The company was tasked with mak- ing a waterproof tape with a heavy plain woven cotton fabric, called duck fabric - hence the name duck tape. Soldiers called it 100-mile-an-hour-tape, and used it to fix just about everything including firearms, truck windows, canisters, and even air- planes. After the war, civilians discovered the tape was great for holding ducts togeth- er, so the tape was changed from military green to the more commonly recognized silver tape, and it was called duct tape. Photo of Vesta Stoudt courtesy of saukvalley.com +0 .5 .&((&*$ -1&,)"*0 ' 3 ** 0.""0 (5,% *0 ##& " ("/ 7 " %*& ( 1,,+.0 7 4 7 ) &( .+0 .5!.&((&*$"-1&,)"*0 $) &( +) 10%+.&6"! *!2&' &/0.& 10+. ".2&*$ 0%" .+1*!3 0". *!1/0.5 Today, you will find duck/duct tape in several different colors and patterns including baseball, football, and hockey teams. There are even contests for students to create prom outfits from duck/duct tape. I guess the moral of the story is, moms always have an answer. Photos of some of the 2014 “stuck at the prom” winners courtesy of duckbrand.com &% ! "" * "(%$ ))) (" $( ' & $ %# # " (" $( $ ( " !" !! ! &% ! % ! (" $( & $ $ $ " ! $ $ ! ! $ ! $ # $ $ $