[Ads-l] duck tape, antedated?

[Stephen Goranson]

Quite right, Pat, that duck was substantial cotton. A question is whether, as a tape strip for use in machinery (pullies and such), it would have been treated to be more effective. If so (?), an analogy might be with a (gas) car fan belt spray.
Stephen
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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of mailbox grammarphobia.com <mailbox at GRAMMARPHOBIA.COM>
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2025 11:46 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: duck tape, antedated?

Sorry, I think the quotes in my last message screwed it up. Here it is again.

The <heavy duck tape> referred to in 1894 was probably cloth, a narrow strip of heavy canvas-weight cotton. In the 19th century, the noun <tape> did not refer to a narrow adhesive strip.

Pat O'Conner

On May 17, 2025, at 12:00 AM, ADS-L automatic digest system <LISTSERV at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote:


Date:    Fri, 16 May 2025 20:01:58 +0000
From:    Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU<mailto:goranson at DUKE.EDU>>
Subject: duck tape, antedated?

A NYT obituary of Ed Smylie, who saved Apollo astronauts by proposing a contraption using duct tape, reminds  me of the earlier (?) duck tape. Searching seemed inadequate for what I recall.
So, maybe, maybe not:

"...use a heavy duck tape..."

The Electrical world v. 24 (1894)
page 79 , col. 2

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