When was colorful duct tape invented

Behind a simple item hides a rich and long history of ideas and unexpected adventures. What we know is that, in that letter, she was the first suggesting to use an adhesive fabric tape to seal the boxes of ammunitions, in order to save precious time during battle.

That product was made of a thin stripe of duck fabric, with a plastic coat and a layer of rubber-based adhesive. During the war, the history of duct tape was confined to the emergency repair of military tools and vehicles, and we had to wait until the end of the conflict to see the product spread out on the market for home applications. During the War, the tape simply had no specific name.

During the Fifties, duct tape was employed in the construction sector to wrap air ducts , with the production of grey colored tapes that could camouflage on the tin. In the Fifties, the tape itself assumed many of the features that possesses nowadays. One of the most glorious moments of duct tape occurred in this context, in , when the tape saved the lives of the astronauts on Apollo 13, during a lunar mission.

Despite duct tape's reputation for superior adhesion, testing done by independent researchers has found that the tape does not work as well as it is intended to. They designed an accelerated aging test that mimicked the temperature conditions of a home or office building from night to day and winter to summer.

They used a series of standard finger joints which connected a smaller duct to a larger one. Wrapping each test connection with a different brand of duct tape, they evaluated the seal under temperature and humidity conditions designed to be similar to those found in home heating and air conditioning systems. The researchers also performed a bake test in which the sample joints were baked at higher temperatures.

However, the tape industry disputed these findings, claiming that for optimal efficiency their tape products should be assisted by collars or clamps. Environmental and price considerations drive researches to identify new adhesive formulations at a lower cost—general price for one 2 in 5 cm wide, 50 yd 46 m roll of all-purpose duct tape is about three dollars—that maintain high functionality with-out being damaging to the environment.

In addition, marketing considerations drive product improvements. In response to criticism that duct tape does not function well at extreme temperatures, manufacturers are creating more advanced formulations specially designed to withstand severe heat and cold fluctuations.

For the first time, formal standards are being created specifically for duct tape to be used on flexible duct work. Tape manufacturers support this plan because they believe that certification by Underwriters Laboratories a product safety testing organization will boost their sales. Berg, Jim, and Tim Nyberg. The Duct Tape Book. Satas, Dontas. Handbook of Pressure Sensitive Adhesives. Second edition. Van Nostrand Reinhold, Baird, Christine V. Harder, Nick. Turpin, Joanna R. Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

Toggle navigation. Three-roll pressure sensitive tape calender. Two-roll adhesive calender. Polyethylene and adhesive calender. Anderson company, one that blossomed and helped define the industry, would have never come to fruition had it not been for the key growth engine and eventual owner, Jack Kahl. Duct tape is invented during World War II. American soldiers use the strong, versatile adhesive for everything from repairing broken windows to making temporary bandages.

After the war, the tape is put to use holding ventilation ducts together and gains the name "duct tape" and becomes to traditional silver color. The soldiers later used it for repair purposes, after seeing how well it holds up. Because it was developed for the military, the tape was initially army green before it became available in the metallic silver that's common today.

Later, it began being used to seal ducts, which is how it became known as "duct" tape. The color was changed to silver to match the ducts.