How Is Duck Tape So Strong? š„
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Morning Durd!
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Hey hey hey, whatās up buddy?
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Youāre excited for another day of Smart Nonsense learning?
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Me too :)
Letās get you ready to go..
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Oops.
Say, how is duck tape so strong anyway?
If you missed our the invention of duck tape newsletter, letās get some brass tacks out of the way:
- Duck tape was invented in 1942 ā WWII
- The US needed a strong tape to seal wooden ammunition boxes
- It had to be waterproof like a duckās back
Okay, now bring back Durd. Itās time to learn why itās so strong.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/654099fc9f4a4d2bb0f8359e_7.webp)
Poor fellow, lol.
Letās zoom in on his mouth:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/654099fca6d219e6a83a1e29_8.webp)
Good.
Now, thereās 3 components that make this stuff so strong.
Obviously thereās a layer of adhesive:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/654099fcc2bc658af32aa372_9.webp)
This is what gives duck tape its stickiness.
Then, thereās the silver, waterproof duck backing.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/654099fb12f7c520f2688eff_10.webp)
This is what gives duck tape its signature waterproofing.
But in the middle of these two layers is where the magic happens.
See, this is a scrim:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/654099fc8bfae5d61a182565_11.webp)
Itās a thin layer of woven cotton that distributes forces evenly across the tape.
It increases the tapeās tensile strength ā basically the amount you can pull on the tape before it breaks.
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Poor durd canāt win today.
So how is it so easy to tear duck tape then?
Well, that middle cloth layer ā the scrim ā is a woven like this:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/654099fc15d58137839d5b02_15.webp)
And it takes almost no effort to tear against its grain!
Stay Cute,
Henry & Dylan š
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