For the handyman, it's what aspirin and Band-Aids are to the medicine cabinet. Duct tape, the new tool of homeland defense, has a way of sticking to everything -- including the public's imagination.
The humble adhesive graces tool boxes, junk drawers and automobile glove boxes. It's used in just about every conceivable way: to patch ripped tents, cracked pipes or hoses, to shore up a mangled car bumper, to remove lint from clothing.
Sometimes it has actually been clothing -- a girdle, a push-up bra, a prom dress or more.
"Some people are really addicted to duct tape," said Melanie Amato, spokeswoman for Henkel Consumer Adhesive in Avon, Ohio, a German-owned company that makes the brand known as Duck tape in Hickory, NC.
"The uses that have evolved come from the imaginations of consumers and have given duct tape a personality and life all of its own," she said.
If that sounds a little over the top, consider what people have made with it: Hats, shoes, purses, wallets, backpacks, belts, tailor-made suits and dresses, for starters.
Plus, it's been scientifically shown to remove warts more effectively and less painfully than a common treatment, liquid nitrogen.
Now the government has found a new use for duct tape: a defense against terrorists.
Officials this week advised people to have duct tape handy to seal windows and doors with plastic sheets in case of a terrorist attack. It's been flying off store shelves ever since.
The idea is that tape and plastic sheets could provide a sealed-off room in case of chemical or biological attack. The government recommends keeping duct tape and scissors on hand, as well as precut sheets of plastic for sealing the doors, windows and vents of a room at home.
Some terrorism experts are wary of the tape-and-plastic strategy.
Duct tape is not necessarily going to save someone's life, but people are willing to give it a try.
Henkel, which ships out 2.3 million meters of Duck tape each day, has boosted its production by 40 percent since the government's announcement.
First manufactured in 1942, duct tape was invented for the US military during World War II. The original use was to keep moisture out of ammunition cases.
Because it was waterproof, people referred to it as "duck tape." Also, the tape was made using cotton duck. Soldiers discovered its versatility and used it to fix guns, jeeps, aircraft and other things.
After the war, the tape was used in the housing industry to connect heating and air conditioning duct work, and the color was changed from Army green to silver to match the ducts. People started calling it duct tape.
Now, there is a Duct Tape Ball held annually in Anchorage, Alaska, where guests design gowns, accessories and tuxedos. They show off their flashy ductwear while walking on a "silver" carpet of tape.
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