hundred-mile-an-hour-tape, duct tape, MacGyver tape, silver tape, cloth tape, grey tape, gaffer's tape, you know, THAT tape. Beloved child can choose its name as we say in Norway. BUT no more choosing names in this house. I was last year old when I learned that the TAPE should rightly be called Stoudt-tape, or Vesta tape, after the WW2 ordnance plant worker and soldiers' mother Vesta Oral Stoudt who thought it up, made it, tested it, and finally wrote a letter to President Roosevelt describing it because the military inspectors didn't want to listen to her. That did the trick. The munitions boxes were sealed with Stoudt-tape on presidential order, and it might have saved soldiers' lives. After the war the TAPE showed up in hardware stores and the rest, as they say, is history. The tape is my primary go-to for temporarily fixing just about anything that moves but shouldn't. My last project was glueing a shelf on our new bathroom tiles. I don't want to make holes in them just yet, so a special glue seemed a good idea. Only it didn't fix immediately. I didn't know how long I would have to stand there and hold on to that little shelf, and I had no intention of standing there at all, so roll on Stoudt-tape! It looked messy for 24 hours, but it looks mighty nice now: And for the record I insist on informing all people I meet about Vesta Stoudt and her tape if the conversation turns in a direction that makes tape a talking point. My local hardware store hates me now. I can live with that.
I love it when a product does way more jobs than you'd think. I've used this tape to hold in a couple of glass panels in the greenhouse until I can get the clips I need. It's still going strong even after snow, rain and high winds!!
Me too! I've used it for wound care (because it's water resistant), gift wrapping (to get the recipient of gift mightily frustrated), fence mending, and right now I can't remember what else over the years. I always carry a roll in my car, along with the WD40 and other assorted must-have tools. I also send warm thoughts to Vesta Stoudt whenever I dig that tape out now.
Droopy, our little farm is held together with duct tape and WD40. Otherwise, everything would be falling apart, or not moving!
Me neither! This story prompted me to do some reading, and I'm eternally grateful to Margaret Wilcox who designed a car heater in 1893, Mary Anderson who invented the windshield wipers in 1903, Melitta Bentz because of coffee filters, Josephine Cochraine for the dishwasher, and Hedy Lamarr for her communications system that led to Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. The everyday things, not worthy of history books, but my, what a difference they made. That sounds very familiar. The problem is that the tape does the job so well the "fix it properly later" goes from temporary quick-fix to semi-permanent.
The typical Texas saying that the entire world was held together with Elmers glue, Scotch tape and baling wire,,, has now changed to Elmers glue, baling wire and duct tape ! I don`t think there is a home in Texas that doesn`t have a roll or two !!
Ah... baling wire! And also much used at the stables is hay rope. Blue, strong, and just right for quick-fixes.
We had a jute twine for square bales ! It was good and strong ! Now its mostly used for crafts ! All our hay bales are 1200 lb round bales now and mesh wrapped !
