Nothing compares to a roll of Duct Tape.

I've heard it claimed that all you need to repair anything is Duct Tape (and possibly a can of WD-40). In my short existence, I have seen this grey adhesive wonder mend much more than a screwdriver ever could.

I don't carry the official title of Duct Tape "Adhesive Solutions Engineer", but some say the title has been given to me honourarily. Each day in my pack, I carry with me a roll of standard-issue, grey Duct Tape and it has come to the rescue more times than I could ever count.

Of course, my handy-dandy roll of Duct Tape has been conscripted to fix all the typical things that Duct Tape is famous for. Its uses have included:

• mending school binders (they last forever with Duct Tape),
• hemming my dress pants,
  
• refastening a friend's watch band
  (which lasted for another 3 months),
• holding batteries in a remote control,
  
• sealing a hole in a shoe,
  
• fixing my dad's reading glasses,
  
• restoring a bathroom door to its functional state,
  
• repairing my gym bag,
  
• and holding a thermometer in place during a chemistry lab.

Along with these come all sorts of atypical uses:

• I have also had the joy of fabricating a 100% Duct tape frisbee.
  
• I have helped my dad fix a fish aquarium to the point where there was more Duct Tape than glass when we were done.
  
• I once saw a car driving down a 6-lane highway at 130 km/hr (80 mph) that appeared to he held together by nothing more than...you guessed it...Duct Tape!
  
• I saw someone trying to remove lint from clothing using the sticky side of Duct Tape.
  
• I have seen Duct Tape wallets, Duct Tape Soccer Balls, canoes patched up with Duct Tape...
  
• In fact, Duct Tape can actually be used to wrap duct work, although it ironically doesn't generally seal or hold up ducts very well!

Even though this honoured tape can be very useful, sometimes we must remember to restrain our Duct Taping impulses:

• Not everyone likes Duct Tape on their car, chairs, pants, house, shoes, hats, TVs, pets, sports gear, and computer.
  
• I also wouldn't recommend you take your date on a romantic night of Duct Taping, or use the stuff to construct an engagement ring - not everyone may understand that kind of fun.
• And just as I don't recommend you hand in your assignments written in crayon (I have seen this done!), I don't recommend you write your term paper on it.

We must remember to not force Duct Tape on others!

The history of Duct Tape

So where did this wondrous grey stuff on a roll come from? And why do some call it "duck" tape?

The origins of this tape of tapes date back to World War II. The Johnson and Johnson Permacel Division was enlisted to manufacture a particular type of waterproof tape for the U.S. Military to keep moisture out of ammunition cases.

Since the tape was a military green and was waterproof, everyone referred to it as "Duck" tape. Military personnel were quick to tap into this new product's potential as they were soon using it to not only keep water out of stuff, but also to repair guns, fix jeeps, strap equipment to their clothing...and of course the rest is history.

After the war, someone in the housing industry started selling a silvery grey version of the tape for work in joining heating and air conditioning ducts and hence we now have the product we are familiar with today.

Today, the green-coloured Duck® brand Tape is still sold and manufactured by Manco, a division of Henkel, and still offers the tape in military green amongst a myriad of other colours. For some reason though, duct grey appears to be the most popular colour despite its somewhat dull appearance.

Duct Tape craze has definitely swept the globe as there even exists a Duct Tape capital of the world. In Springfield, Missouri more Duct Tape is sold per person than any other place in the world. In fact, a particular WalMart there claims the honour of selling more of it than any other single store.

As Duct Tape slowly begins to cover our planet's surface, we wonder what lies ahead for this extraordinary grey adhesive. The Duct Tape world of the future will have no need for lunch boxes-tape all your food together. The grey roll can be used to fashion a prom suit (Ryan F. from Minnesota did that), make really cool underwear, or maybe the military will use it to waterproof ammunition cases. The sky will be the limit when NASA finally builds a space shuttle out of Duct Tape.

However, we must "tape this all with a grain of salt". Experts in the Duct Tape-ology have speculated that Duct Tape unfortunately does have its limitations. It cannot fix the national debt, mend a broken heart, or patch together the meaning of life. On the other hand, we all know the world has never been the same since it came into our hands.