Words & Language: March 2003 Archives

Whya Duck?

William Safire strikes again.

"The original name of the cloth-backed, waterproof adhesive product was duck tape, developed for the United States Army by the Permacel division of Johnson & Johnson to keep moisture out of ammunition cases. The earliest civilian use I can find is in an advertisement by Gimbels department store in June 1942 (antedating the O.E.D. entry by three decades -- nobody but nobody beats this column), which substitutes our product for the ''ladder tape'' that usually holds together Venetian blinds. For $2.99, Gimbels -- now defunct -- would provide blinds ''in cream with cream tape or in white with duck tape.''"

This is a fabulous exposition of the etymology of duct/duck tape. I am also pleased to see a reference to the beloved Gimbel's, now long gone.