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Project 3

Duct Tape: From 1942 to the End of the World

For my third and final project in Disruptive Technologies, I wanted to complete my theme of unusual and unique attire. Therefore, when I was watching some end-of-the-world movies, I started thinking about the unrealistic attire that is usually displayed in the costumes of these movies. I felt that come the destruction of modern civilization, luxuries like dry cleaners, washing machines, and tailors that we take for granted everyday, would be lost. The costumes wouldn't look taken care of or appear that they were recently picked up at a local Ambercrombie & Fitch store. With that in mind, I thought to myself, "what would survive the test of time?" Thinking of the famous quote, "The two things that would survive through a nuclear explosion are cockroaches and duct tape," I decided to make an outfit that consisted entirely of duct tape! I researched a bit about the product and its history, finding that it truly has become disruptive already. So, finding a trove of information concerning duct tape, I decided that a short but effectively informative Power Point presentation would help my audience get a better understanding as to where I was going with this project as well as some fun facts. Therefore, I constructed a 12 slide presentation which included a breakdown of the following information:

Designed in 1942 during World War II by a division of Johnson & Johnson, it was used to waterproof ammunition cases with its rubber-based adhesive. After the war though, it was brought into the home to make everyday repairs due to its strength, durability, versatility, and low cost, making it a common American staple. Thought to have received its name for mending air conditioning ducts as well as being made from cotton duct, there was also some controversy about whether it should be called "duck" tape for the water shedding properties like that of a duck's plumage. Whatever the original name may have been, 'duct' stuck and 'duck' became the brand name for Duck Products owned by a division of Henkel. Furthermore, it has been dubbed the "ultimate material" for its use by everyone from engineers, theater students, and even NASA who used it to save the lives of the astronauts aboard Apollo 13. There is even rumor that it has the ability to cure warts, although that is debated among the medical community. But then, it became disruptive when pop culture got its hands on it. Various art forms emerged that were everything from original, cool, and just plain illegal...

It has even made history in some famous quotes:

"If you can't fix it, 'duct' it!" -Tim Allen

"Duct tape is like the Force - it has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together." - Carl Zwanzig

So after presenting this information, I explained how I thought that at the end of the world, duct tape would still be around after mentioning the 'cockroaches and duct tape' quote. And if there was a limit on animals to produce leather, wool, fleece, et cetera, as well as a lack of agriculture for cotton, and destroyed textile industries, I asked, "what could you wear?" I then removed the coverall which I was wearing to display the outfit which I had designed that was underneath...

I then explained that, hypothetically, this could be a sturdy form of attire for an end-of-the-world scenario! Not only is it waterproof to shield you from the elements when you would most likely be spending a lot of time outside, it is also incredibly strong to protect your skin from being scratched if you should travel through harsh terrains. But if you should hurt yourself, you could easily remove a piece of the attire and use it in various forms from bandaging, bracing, and wrappings. Additionally, there is no need to wash the material. It would last a long time and it could be easily disposed of or recycled after its use. It wouldn't hold odors either, like regular porous clothing, adding to its ability to be able to wear it longer. And there are different ways to wear duct tape as well. You could tape it directly to the body, but you would need to wait for it to lose its bonding adhesive and come off on its own, otherwise you'd need a high tolerance to pain as it would be like waxing your entire body! What would be more suitable is making an outfit from it, as I did with the top. Or, you could wrap existing clothing with it, forming a shield-like guard to prevent rips and tears in the material as I did with the skirt.