Pub Talk - Necessity is the Mother of Invention

This is a little off-topic, but since we have been discussing the use of duck cloth in the manufacture of the new plastic helmet liner, let me ask you a question, Trooper.

What is the most famous product in the world that utilizes cotton duck cloth?

If your response was "Duck Tape," you are correct, and yes, I did say "Duck Tape," not "Duct Tape."

Although similar forms of waterproof tape existed as early as the late 1800s, what we would recognize today as Duck Tape was born in late 1942 out of the concerns and fears of a mom with two sons serving in active theaters of war.

Vesta Stoudt was doing her part for the war effort, working as an inspector at the Green River Ordnance Plant in Dixon, Illinois. Vesta boxed up cartridges for rifle grenades and was responsible for the final inspection of these boxes before they were shipped to the Army.

As part of her inspection, Vesta checked the watertight wax seal on the fiberboard boxes within the ammo crates. On one too many occasions she noted that the paper tear strip imbedded in the wax coating of the boxes, intended to allow for quick access to the ammunition inside, simply tore off without breaking the seal. Vesta found she was haunted by the thought that her boys, or any American soldier, might lose their lives because they couldn’t get to the ammunition they needed quickly due to a defective tear tab.

Vesta concluded that a watertight adhesive tape that would seal the box while allowing for quick and easy removal by folding the end back on itself to make a pull tab was the answer. She took this suggestion to the supervisors and government inspectors at the plant, who thanked her for her input but showed no enthusiasm in pursuing the idea, as they did not believe they could convince those with authority to change the sealing process currently in use.

Like any normal American mom would, Vesta accepted their decision with grace and understanding, followed by a personal letter she wrote and mailed directly to the President of the United States, pleading her case, because that’s what moms do. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) received Vesta’s letter and agreed with both her heartfelt concerns and suggested solution. FDR passed her suggestion on to the War Production Board, who also liked the idea.

A few short weeks later, in February 1943, Johnson & Johnson was contracted to make an olive drab-colored, polyethylene-coated duck fabric tape with a strong adhesive on the other side. The Army designated the resulting product they manufactured as Department of Utilities Cloth, or D.U.C. Tape. Because this tape was waterproof and made with duck cloth, Johnson & Johnson formally named it DUCK tape, and a legend was born.

American soldiers developed a deep affection for this tape due to its versatile applications and ease of use. These same soldiers, now civilians working in construction during the housing boom of the 1950s, used this tape for various applications on the job site, most commonly to seal the ductwork of central air systems. In 1975, the Manco company obtained the trademark for “Duck Tape” together with the yellow cartoon duck logo, and although they sold tape under this name, they were motivated to increase the sale and use of this product. In a marketing move focused on the most common construction use for this tape, the color was changed from the original military olive green to silver, and the name was formally altered to duct tape.

Since its formal invention, the numerous clever uses found for this tape have ranged from simple and mundane household repairs, first aid, and creative artistic expression to the saving of the lives of the Apollo Thirteen astronauts by allowing them to modify the command module’s square carbon dioxide filter to fit the lunar module’s round receptacles.

At the end of the day, whether you call it “duck” or “duct,” we owe a heartfelt shout-out to the persistence of a WWII hero named Vesta Stoudt.

Thanks, Vesta!