History Of Duct Tape.

Then it was for decoration with various clothing, and then it was used for covering steel cables or electrical wiring and conductors to protect them from corrosion. Back in 1902, steel cables used for supporting the Manhattan Bridge were first covered in linseed oil then further protected by wrapping in duck tape while being put in place. During the 1910s, boots and shoes needed canvas duck for the upper or for the insole, and duck tape was sometimes blended in for added strength.

Various tapes were widely in use by the 1910s, and giant rolls of cloth tape with adhesive coating on one side were very common. White tape made of cloth soaked in rubber and zinc oxide were essential at hospitals to bind wounds and protect patients from infection, but other types of tapes like friction tape or electrical tapes could be used if needed in an emergency. In 1930, the magazine popular mechanics displayed how to fabricate adhesive tapes at the house with plain cloth tape drowned in a liquid mixture of rosin and rubber from melted down from old bicycle and car tire inner tubes.

In 1923, Richard Gurley Drew was working at 3M, and during his time there he invented masking tape, a paper tape that had adhesive on one side. In 1925 said tape was to be known as the Scotch masking tape. In 1930, Drew invented transparent tape cellophane with adhesive, and that taped was named and called Scotch Tape. This tape was heavily used in the Great Depression to repair all types of things found in the home. It was heaven sent for poor people during those days.

Then there was a new item, and their new product was fabricated out of thin cotton duck tape strips coated in waterproof polyethylene with layers of rubber based adhesive that was bonded to one side only. It was easy to attach and easy to remove from most things. Not long after it was soon noticed by armed forces mechanics, and then adapted for use on military equipment and machines, including their vehicles and their weaponry. The amazing tape was then dyed to be colored in army olive drab, and was quickly dubbed duck tape.

Various theories are and have been always put forward regarding the nickname, including the relationship and similarities to cotton duck fabric, the characteristics of a duck being waterproof, and maybe the 1942 amphibious vehicle DUKW which was pronounced phonetically as duck.

After the end of the world war, duck tape products used to be sold at hardware stores for repairs of just but anything that waterproof tape could assist with. Melvin A. Anderson of Cleveland, Ohio, acquired the legal rights to the product in 1950. It was commonly used to wrap air ducts. Following this application, the name duct tape came into use in the along with products that were colored gray like duct work.

The rest, of course, is history.