The other day I reached for my favorite invention—duct tape—and saved the world. Well, sorta. I reattached a baby doll arm and made a little girl smile. Yep, I know some folks call sliced bread the greatest invention, but I vote for duct tape. Over the years I used it for everything from hemming a dress to repairing a broken shovel to removing cat hair. With no shame whatsoever I confess to owning a half dozen rolls of the miracle tape and love the variety of colors available nowadays. As wacky as it sounds, a good number of other people share my affinity for the product possessing its own website, hosting an annual festival, and sponsoring a high school prom contest. No kidding, the guys’ tux and girls’ dresses must be made of duct tape.
Even more fascinating is the history of duct tape. Back in 1943, Vesta Stoudt worked in an Illinois ordnance factory while her two sons served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. She observed a flaw in the ammunition packaging and suggested a fix to her supervisors. When they ignored her idea, she wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt detailing the problem and her solution, a super-sticky tape. He liked her idea and answered her letter with the good news of its production approval. Today we call it duct tape, but the military originally named it 100-mile-per-hour tape because soldiers used it to fix anything from jeep fenders to boots.
For her ingenuity and service to our country, I declare Vesta Stoudt a genius. If you’re a duct tape fan, share one of your uses for her extraordinary invention.
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