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The contents of the Duct tape alert page were merged into Duct tape. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected page, please see its history; for the discussion at that location, see its talk page. (13 February 2017) |
On 6 September 2023, it was proposed that this article be moved to Duck tape. The result of the discussion was not moved. |
Since so many people think any tape refered to as "duct tape" can be used on air ducts, maybe this page should be called "Duck tape". I've heard that the origin for the name "duck tape" is that water rolls off it like water off the back of a duck.
As for the real duct tape, it's unrelated. It has a different adhesive and is based on a aluminum foil. Will ( Talk - contribs) 22:30, 23 December 2015 (UTC)
At the very least, the comment "often mispronounced duck tape" should probably be removed since there is active debate over the correct name. -- Resuna ( talk) 20:53, 13 April 2018 (UTC)
I think there should be some warning upfront that this isn't resolved. As is the etymology section entirely contradicts itself. It would also seem possible to resolve some of these contradictions. One paragraph claims "Their new unnamed product was made of thin cotton duck coated in waterproof polyethylene" but a couple paragraphs later the entire history is stated to be "quack" by the quoted etymologist, not only rejecting the use of the word duck, but that duck cloth was never used. It was or it wasn't, but this one section claims both. This is causing arguments elsewhere on the internet that I have to get back to. Psylok ( talk) 20:22, 16 July 2018 (UTC)
The whole article appears to support the use of duck tape as the name of a tape developed before and during WWII, however there is one paragraph beginning "According to etymologist Jan Freeman..." that states that 'duct tape' was first used in the 1960s and 'duck tape' in the 1970s.
Here is an example in the article where it's stated as being used as far back as 1902 as 'duck tape': "The first material called "duck tape" was long strips of plain cotton duck cloth used in making shoes stronger, for decoration on clothing, and for wrapping steel cables or electrical conductors to protect them from corrosion or wear. For instance, in 1902, steel cables supporting the Manhattan Bridge were first covered in linseed oil then wrapped in duck tape before being laid in place."
And here: "The Revolite division of Johnson & Johnson had made medical adhesive tapes from duck cloth from 1927 and a team headed by Revolite's Johnny Denoye and Johnson & Johnson's Bill Gross developed the new adhesive tape, designed to be ripped by hand, not cut with scissors. Their new unnamed product was made of thin cotton duck coated in waterproof polyethylene (plastic) with a layer of rubber-based gray adhesive (branded as "Polycoat") bonded to one side."
This clearly supports the use of "duck tape" as the name of the product as the product's origins include the use duck cloth.
Here is the contradictory paragraph that appears to go against all points and references made elsewhere in the document: "According to etymologist Jan Freeman, the story that duct tape was originally called duck tape is "quack etymology" that has spread "due to the reach of the Internet and the appeal of a good story" but "remains a statement of faith, not fact." She notes that duct tape is not made from duck cloth and there is no known primary-source evidence that it was originally referred to as duck tape. Her research does not show any use of the phrase "duck tape" in World War II, and indicates that the earliest documented name for the adhesive product was "duct tape" in 1960. The phrase "duck tape" to refer to an adhesive product does not appear until the 1970s and was not popularized until the 1980s, after the Duck brand became successful and after the New York Times referred to and defined the product under the name "duct tape" in 1973."
Apologies for the long post, but basically, I feel there needs to be more clarity/uniformity on which name is used in the article/the balance of how each name is supported; as there is as much of an argument against "duct" (as it's used for more than just air ducts), as there is against "duck" (because it isn't still made with duck cloth). Yet the product was made using duck cloth long before it was used for air ducts. I'm not sure whether it requires a rewording and a removal of some sections, or a new section created altogether.
TGB13 ( talk) 17:51, 24 November 2018 (UTC)
Duct tape is commonly, and erroneously, referred to as "duck tape". [1] Duct tape was originally known as "duck tape", receiving this moniker because it was originally made out of cotton duck fabric and was said to repel water like the back of a duck. [2] Duct tape adopted its modern name following World War II, when it began being marketed as a way to fix leaks in forced-air heating systems. [3] Despite the name, modern duct tape is not designed to be used in air ducts, where HVAC tape is preferred. [4] Both terms are often used today, and confusion and debate exists over which term is correct, [5] [6] but the correct term is "duct tape". [1] Duck tape more accurately refers to the brand Duck Tape, originally registered by Manco and now sold by Shurtape. [5]
References
Please note that the debate on duct/duck has been going on for 15 years. The first comment on this talk page was on April 22, 2004. You can review all of the discussions at Talk:Duct tape/Archive 1. Any argument you want to make has probably been used before. - Donald Albury 19:40, 7 June 2019 (UTC)
Does this article belong in wikiproject Industrial design? -- Cl3phact0 ( talk) 21:24, 21 February 2023 (UTC)
The result of the move request was: not moved. ( closed by non-admin page mover) – Material Works 17:33, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
– This is a 19-year-old dispute, but at the point this is pretty comprehensively settled. The article goes out of its way to point out that:
This article is repeatedly used as "evidence" that the current title is normatively correct. It never has been. The sources agree. At this point it's just incongruous.
The existing dab at the title can be trivially addressed with a hatnote once the article is moved. Chris Cunningham (user:thumperward) ( talk) 17:17, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
This is the
talk page for discussing improvements to the
Duct tape article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies
|
Find sources: Google ( books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
Archives: 1Auto-archiving period: 180 days |
This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||
|
The contents of the Duct tape alert page were merged into Duct tape. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected page, please see its history; for the discussion at that location, see its talk page. (13 February 2017) |
On 6 September 2023, it was proposed that this article be moved to Duck tape. The result of the discussion was not moved. |
Since so many people think any tape refered to as "duct tape" can be used on air ducts, maybe this page should be called "Duck tape". I've heard that the origin for the name "duck tape" is that water rolls off it like water off the back of a duck.
As for the real duct tape, it's unrelated. It has a different adhesive and is based on a aluminum foil. Will ( Talk - contribs) 22:30, 23 December 2015 (UTC)
At the very least, the comment "often mispronounced duck tape" should probably be removed since there is active debate over the correct name. -- Resuna ( talk) 20:53, 13 April 2018 (UTC)
I think there should be some warning upfront that this isn't resolved. As is the etymology section entirely contradicts itself. It would also seem possible to resolve some of these contradictions. One paragraph claims "Their new unnamed product was made of thin cotton duck coated in waterproof polyethylene" but a couple paragraphs later the entire history is stated to be "quack" by the quoted etymologist, not only rejecting the use of the word duck, but that duck cloth was never used. It was or it wasn't, but this one section claims both. This is causing arguments elsewhere on the internet that I have to get back to. Psylok ( talk) 20:22, 16 July 2018 (UTC)
The whole article appears to support the use of duck tape as the name of a tape developed before and during WWII, however there is one paragraph beginning "According to etymologist Jan Freeman..." that states that 'duct tape' was first used in the 1960s and 'duck tape' in the 1970s.
Here is an example in the article where it's stated as being used as far back as 1902 as 'duck tape': "The first material called "duck tape" was long strips of plain cotton duck cloth used in making shoes stronger, for decoration on clothing, and for wrapping steel cables or electrical conductors to protect them from corrosion or wear. For instance, in 1902, steel cables supporting the Manhattan Bridge were first covered in linseed oil then wrapped in duck tape before being laid in place."
And here: "The Revolite division of Johnson & Johnson had made medical adhesive tapes from duck cloth from 1927 and a team headed by Revolite's Johnny Denoye and Johnson & Johnson's Bill Gross developed the new adhesive tape, designed to be ripped by hand, not cut with scissors. Their new unnamed product was made of thin cotton duck coated in waterproof polyethylene (plastic) with a layer of rubber-based gray adhesive (branded as "Polycoat") bonded to one side."
This clearly supports the use of "duck tape" as the name of the product as the product's origins include the use duck cloth.
Here is the contradictory paragraph that appears to go against all points and references made elsewhere in the document: "According to etymologist Jan Freeman, the story that duct tape was originally called duck tape is "quack etymology" that has spread "due to the reach of the Internet and the appeal of a good story" but "remains a statement of faith, not fact." She notes that duct tape is not made from duck cloth and there is no known primary-source evidence that it was originally referred to as duck tape. Her research does not show any use of the phrase "duck tape" in World War II, and indicates that the earliest documented name for the adhesive product was "duct tape" in 1960. The phrase "duck tape" to refer to an adhesive product does not appear until the 1970s and was not popularized until the 1980s, after the Duck brand became successful and after the New York Times referred to and defined the product under the name "duct tape" in 1973."
Apologies for the long post, but basically, I feel there needs to be more clarity/uniformity on which name is used in the article/the balance of how each name is supported; as there is as much of an argument against "duct" (as it's used for more than just air ducts), as there is against "duck" (because it isn't still made with duck cloth). Yet the product was made using duck cloth long before it was used for air ducts. I'm not sure whether it requires a rewording and a removal of some sections, or a new section created altogether.
TGB13 ( talk) 17:51, 24 November 2018 (UTC)
Duct tape is commonly, and erroneously, referred to as "duck tape". [1] Duct tape was originally known as "duck tape", receiving this moniker because it was originally made out of cotton duck fabric and was said to repel water like the back of a duck. [2] Duct tape adopted its modern name following World War II, when it began being marketed as a way to fix leaks in forced-air heating systems. [3] Despite the name, modern duct tape is not designed to be used in air ducts, where HVAC tape is preferred. [4] Both terms are often used today, and confusion and debate exists over which term is correct, [5] [6] but the correct term is "duct tape". [1] Duck tape more accurately refers to the brand Duck Tape, originally registered by Manco and now sold by Shurtape. [5]
References
Please note that the debate on duct/duck has been going on for 15 years. The first comment on this talk page was on April 22, 2004. You can review all of the discussions at Talk:Duct tape/Archive 1. Any argument you want to make has probably been used before. - Donald Albury 19:40, 7 June 2019 (UTC)
Does this article belong in wikiproject Industrial design? -- Cl3phact0 ( talk) 21:24, 21 February 2023 (UTC)
The result of the move request was: not moved. ( closed by non-admin page mover) – Material Works 17:33, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
– This is a 19-year-old dispute, but at the point this is pretty comprehensively settled. The article goes out of its way to point out that:
This article is repeatedly used as "evidence" that the current title is normatively correct. It never has been. The sources agree. At this point it's just incongruous.
The existing dab at the title can be trivially addressed with a hatnote once the article is moved. Chris Cunningham (user:thumperward) ( talk) 17:17, 6 September 2023 (UTC)