Never underestimate a roll of duck tape — that all-purpose, totally essential, adhesive little friend of crafts person and home handyman alike.
Perhaps, like me, you’ve spent a lifetime calling the ubiquitous product “duct tape”? Ah yes, the great Duct tape vs. Duck tape debate: I do recall reading somewhere quite recently — in Reader’s Digest, perhaps — that “duck tape” is the slightly older term, for reasons related to the tape’s use by WWII military in waterproofing canvas ammo cases or such…
Sure, we’ve all seen some creative use of duck tape in our time — and the television and movie depictions of brutal kidnappings always feature it largely, but have you ever used duck tape…
• To stop your bed-partner from snoring?
• To fix a helicopter blade in the midst of a war?
• To cobble together a drinking cup, or a Halloween costume?
• To mend an artificial leg?
• To create a dolphin sculpture for some sorority hijinks?
• To repair the seat of your pants, when the seam splits open just moments before an out-of-town business meeting?
• To make snow boots for a kid?
I’ve just been enjoying the Creative Uses section on the Duck Tape Products site — can’t you tell? — and it’s clear there’s no end to the ingenuity of duck tape users!
And, given some of the wild suggestions, no wonder that there’s a great big legal liability disclaimer on every page of the user-submitted hints and tips, “in the event your duct tape enthusiasm outweighs your common sense…”
The do-it-yourself veterinary uses alone, wow…
My friend Joni should write in. She has a pony with an injured foot, who has to wear a little rubber boot. The hoof-protecting boot keeps coming off, so Joni tapes it on every morning before turning the rambunctious pony out in his pasture. Most often she does a purple tape bootie, to coordinate with the horse blanket, but this week I see she’s been making green and red stripes for the festive season.
Hands up for extra bonus points — who knew that Duck brand duct tape came in nineteen, count ’em, 19 colors?