page_title: Duct tape
section_title: In popular culture
hierarchical_section_title: Duct tape / Alternative uses / In popular culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Trojan Shrine (aka "Tommy Trojan") wrapped in duct tape during UCLA rivalry week on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California
context_page_description: Duct tape, also called duck tape, is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. There are a variety of constructions using different backings and adhesives, and the term 'duct tape' is often used to refer to all sorts of different cloth tapes of differing purposes. Duct tape is often confused with gaffer tape. Another variation is heat-resistant foil duct tape useful for sealing heating and cooling ducts, produced because standard duct tape fails quickly when used on heating ducts. Duct tape is generally silvery gray, but also available in other colors and even printed designs.
  During World War II, Revolite developed an adhesive tape made from a rubber-based adhesive applied to a durable duck cloth backing. This tape resisted water and was used as sealing tape on some ammunition cases during that period.
  "Duck tape" is recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary as having been in use since 1899; "duct tape" since 1965.
context_section_description: The Duct Tape Guys (Jim Berg and Tim Nyberg) have written seven books about duct tape, as of 2005. Their bestselling books have sold over 1.5 million copies and feature real and unusual uses of duct tape. In 1994 they coined the phrase "it ain't broke, it just lacks duct tape". Added to that phrase in 1995 with the publication of their book about lubricant WD-40 book was, "Two rules get you through life: if it's stuck and it's not supposed to be, WD-40 it. If it's not stuck and it's supposed to be, duct tape it". Their website features thousands of duct tape uses from people around the world ranging from fashions to auto repair. The combination of WD-40 and duct tape is sometimes referred to as "the redneck repair kit".
  The Canadian sitcom The Red Green Show's title character often used duct tape (which he dubbed "the handyman's secret weapon") as both a shortcut to proper fastening as well as for unconventional uses. The series sometimes showcased fan duct tape creations. The series had a feature film based on it entitled Duct Tape Forever and several VHS/DVD compilations of the show's use of the tape have been released. Since 2000, series star Steve Smith (as "Red Green") has been the "Ambassador of Scotch Duct Tape" for 3M.
  The Discovery Channel series MythBusters featured duct tape in a number of myths that involve non-traditional uses. Confirmed myths include suspending a car for a period of time, building a functional cannon, a two-person sailboat, a two-person canoe (with duct tape paddles), a two-person raft, Roman sandals, a chess set, a leak proof water canister, rope, a hammock that can support the weight of an adult male, holding a car in place, a bridge that spanned the width of a dry dock, and a full-scale functional trebuchet with duct tape as the only binder. In the episode "Duct Tape Plane", the MythBusters repaired (and eventually replaced) the skin of a lightweight airplane with duct tape and flew it a few meters above a runway.
  Garrison Keillor's radio show A Prairie Home Companion includes comedic fictional commercials sponsored by the "American Duct Tape Council".
caption: University of Southern California's Tommy Trojan statue wrapped in duct tape prior to a football game
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