Despite the insistence of a couple generations of shadetree mechanics and even its own manufacturers, the proper nomenclature for the material in question is "duck" tape, not "duct" tape. It was never intended for, and performs very poorly at the task of sealing ducts.

"Duck" is the name of a type of densely woven cotton cloth, treated with wax. The waterproof nature of this cloth is where the name comes from, as duck feathers famously repel water.

The original duck tape was made by applying a pressure sensitive adhesive to strips of duck cloth. Modern variants still use a fabric matrix for strength, but have added a layer of plastic to provide water resistance.

[–] poopkins@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Either are okay, because the history is actually linen tape ("doek" tape, from Dutch) and it was branded as both when Anglicized.

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[–] CreateProblems@corndog.social 4 points 1 year ago

TIL!

That said, reading the Wikipedia article, there very much were tapes made for repairing ducts.

It was commonly used in construction to wrap air ducts.[20] Following this application, the name "duct tape" came into use in the 1950s, along with tape products that were colored silvery gray like tin ductwork. Specialized heat- and cold-resistant tapes were developed for heating and air-conditioning ducts. By 1960 a St. Louis, Missouri, HVAC company, Albert Arno, Inc., trademarked the name "Ductape" for their "flame-resistant" duct tape, capable of holding together at 350–400 °F (177–204 °C).[21]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape