History Main / DuctTapeForEverything

* During the first ''Franchise/StarWars'' film, ''Film/ANewHope'', duct tape was used to [[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-12-19/entertainment/0812170618_1_daughter-of-debbie-reynolds-star-wars-bra hold Carrie Fisher's boobs in place]], because George Lucas had a "no bras in space" rule, and the white see-through dress she wore throughout ''ANH'' would make a bra too obvious.
* Anyone who would do this to such an adorable creature must be on the dark side of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4R9wjjoeNI duct-tape force]].

* In the first ''VideoGame/ObsCure'' game, you can attach flashlights to guns using duct tape. Strangely, this is a case where it wouldn't work in real life -- it's done in-game by simply wrapping duct tape around the gun and the flashlight, including around the slide in the case of the pocket pistol, which would cause that gun to jam due to the duct tape preventing the normal operation of the slide. Even with other weapons, the recoil would likely cause the flashlight to go flying after a few shots. (There's a reason why lights and other attachments are specially mounted, as is the case with the heavy pistol in-game, which comes with a built-in flashlight.)

-->"My brother died in the war. His multimillion-dollar helicopter was shot down by a grenade launcher held together with duct tape."

-->'''Eggman''': "Please refrain from peeling off the special space-age polymer holding the starship together. [[BlatantLies It may look and feel like duct tape, but it's not.]] [[HesitationEqualsDishonesty It's called...]] [[SpaceX space... tape.]] Very advanced stuff. Thank you."

-->'''Erika:''' I, Erika Furudo, have duct tape!!"

* In ''[[Website/GaiaOnline zOMG!]]'', you can wrap up your enemies with duct tape to keep them from moving. Even the [[MemeticBadass Landshark]].
** There's a Duct Tape item for your avatar on ''Website/GaiaOnline'', too. One pose, called "I FIX IT!!!" has your avatar duct-taped to the screen.

* One of the "repair item" sound effects in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' is - you guessed it - the sound of duct tape being ripped off a roll.
** Several weapons in both this game and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' have bits of duct tape wrapped around them.
** Quoth the recipe for Weapon Repair Kits; "1x Duct Tape, 1x Scrap Electronics, 2x Scrap Metal, 1x Wonderglue, 1x Wrench"
** Also in the same game the perk "[[{{Macgyvering}} Jury-Rigging]]" shows Vault Boy duct taping two unrelated weapons together. [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101012144311/fallout/images/2/24/JuryRigging.png (It appears to be an assault rifle and a shotgun)]] He uses a lot of duct tape.

* A fan-produced expansion pack for ''VideoGame/FreeSpace2'' called ''VideoGame/{{Derelict}}'' features Lt. Mackie, who frequently references duct tape in his dialogue. Got far enough that it's considered one of the character's defining traits among the fandom.

Occasionally, super-glue fills this role, but more often it's used in [[StickySituation comedic mishaps]]. Compare and contrast to PainfulAdhesiveRemoval.

[[JustForFun/TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters Has been examined by the MythBusters.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}'': What do you do when you're miles out to sea and the heart crystal, which powers the whole submarine, is fractured? [[http://archipelagocomic.com/comic/?id=397 Yup, you guessed it.]]

* ''Series/SweetHome'': Sang-wook uses duct tape to [[BoundAndGagged restrain Yun-jae]] and [[WorstAid bandage a wound.]]

Occasionally, super-glue fills this role, but more often it's used in [[StickySituation comedic mishaps]].

[[folder:Film]]

* In the last ''WesternAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequel ''Dot in Space'', a race of bubble-shaped aliens use their equivalent of duct-tape to silence Dot after they capture her.

* During at least one killing spree in ''[[Fanfic/EakinsHardReset Hard Reset]]'', Twilight binds a changeling with duct tape before casually going over to it and smashing its brains in with [[BatterUp Home]] [[ICallItVera Run]].

* Ever wonder what to do when your $200,000 stock car needs fast, fast repairs to its bodywork that you spent hours in a wind tunnel getting just right while staying within your sanctioning body's rules on body form? Huge pieces of what's essentially duct tape. Likewise "speed tape", the FAA-approved emergency aircraft repair material that's basically aluminum sheet with extremely high-grade adhesive backing. Duct tape turned UpToEleven, if you will.

* Subverted with when Dhani Harrison once wrecked his car when speeding down the driveway. He put the parts back together with Duct Tape. When his mom found out, she flipped out.

* ''The Darwin Awards'' have a few entries related to people who overestimated duct tape:

* In the last ''WesternAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequel, a race of bubble-shaped aliens use their equivalent of duct-tape to silence Dot after they capture her.

* In the last ''WesternAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequel, a race of bubble-shaped aliens use their equivalent of duct-tape to gag Dot after they capture her.

* In ''ComicBoo/MarvelVersusDC'', the Guardian of Space/Time (Access' predecessor) at first attempts to seal the rift between the Marvel and DC universes using duct tape. Surprisingly, this doesn't work.

* ''Film/{{Adrift 2018}}'': Tami finds it's perfect for patching holes in the yacht's side.

* One of the "repair item" sound effects in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' is - you guessed it - the sound of duct tape being ripped off a roll.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', "Adhesive" is one of the most common components required for building weapon and armor mods. Duct tape is quite naturally one of the most readily available forms of adhesive available (at least until you're able to start cooking up vegetable starch).

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Pretty much the only thing keeping [[ButtMonkey Riku]] together in ''WebComic/AnsemRetort'' is duct tape. [[{{Jerkass}} Zexion]] ''could'' fix Riku better. He just doesn't want to.
* ''WebComic/{{Archipelago}}'': What do you do when you're miles out to sea and the heart crystal, which powers the whole submarine, is fractured? [[http://archipelagocomic.com/comic/?id=397 Yup, you guessed it.]]
* ''WebComic/{{d20monkey}}'' on the certain "[[http://www.d20monkey.com/2010/10/22/stuck-on-you/ Item Creation System]]" of ''VideoGame/DeadRising2''.

* ''WebComic/UnwindersTallComics''. Unwinder insists on making Dr. Minivan "man up", and one of his suggestions to accomplish this is to [[http://tallcomics.com/?id=108 use more duct tape]].

* Most of the main cast in ''WebComic/TheWhiteboard'' uses duct tape for a lot of things, such as fixing guns or [[UnwillingSuspension tying somebody up to the ceiling of the store]].
* Subverted in the title text of [[http://xkcd.com/478/ this]] ''WebComic/{{xkcd}}'', where duct tape is insufficient for the character, as it doesn't make [[SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound "that 'kaCHUNK' noise."]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy,'' ComicBook/RocketRaccoon starts stockpiling the stuff after seeing its miraculous abilities in action when the team first visits Earth.

* In the parodic fantasy webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'', duct tape is an essential component of healing spells, up to and including the resurrection of the dead. Whether the tape itself has any inherent magical properties [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane is left to the reader's mind]], should one choose to venture beyond the RuleOfFunny powering the setting.

* ''Series/{{Millennium}}''. Subverted in "Somehow Satan Got Behind Me", when the [[TheCorrupter demon Blurk]] taunts serial killer wannabe Perry that he probably has a roll of duct tape in the glove compartment of his van because he fantasies about [[BoundAndGagged kidnapping women]] and murdering them. Turns out he does.

* ''ConsumerReports''' solution to the [=iPhone=] 4 reception problem? Cover the antenna area of the outside case with "thick non-conductive material". Guess which one [[http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/video-hub/electronics/phones--mobile-devices/iphone-4-design-defect-confirmed/16935237001/111613310001/ they used in the demonstration video]]?

** Then they did ''another'' duct tape survival hour, this time the situation being a broken-down car in the middle of the desert, and they have to traverse the Grand Canyon.[[note]]Actually, a canyon in Utah, with the final segment taking place on a river in California's Central Valley[[/note]] This time, they also have a great deal of bubble wrap to help them out.

* Part of comedian Creator/TimAllen's routine was how every maintenance problem could be solved with duct tape. The catchphrase was "Have a problem with _____? Duct it!".

* Possibly related to the above, submariners are quite familiar with duct tape on steroids called "EB Green", so named for its supposed origin with Electric Boat, who built a lot of US submarines. A probably apocryphal accounts credit it with withstanding pressures to test depth, in excess of 400 feet (the "official" test depth stated to the public by the US Navy, for security reasons). The story goes that this occurred on a boat during testing following a refit at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, a facility somewhat notorious for absurd incidents that damaged boats or led to them being damaged later in stupid ways (poor communications led to USS Guitarro sinking during construction and the same boat was fitted with a defective propeller shaft that snapped in mid-ocean due to a procedural error). One part of post-refit inspection involved taking the boat to a specified depth (400 feet in this case) and then doing the most thorough possible inspection for any possible leaks. During the inspection, any crewman may order an emergency surfacing if a problem is detected. One crewman stuck his head through a hatch into the space between the ship's interior compartments and the pressure hull and began screaming for an emergency surface. Afterwards, when asked what he'd found, he said they wouldn't believe him unless the senior officers looked themselves, and what they saw was a chunk of the pressure hull missing and taped over with EB Green. It turned out that a hole had been cut in the pressure hull to access components inside for work in the refit, and it began to rain so the workman taped over the hole to keep out water, and before he got back to it the whole thing was painted over[[note]]normally this would seem to be impossible, as the workman should have reported not having welded the hole shut again, but this facility was known for such errors[[/note]]. The gloves on anti-contamination (Canary) suits, for entering the Reactor Compartment during shutdowns, were sealed to the suits using the same EB Green.
* Duct tape is featured regularly in submissions to [[http://thereifixedit.com/ there, I fixed it]], including to [[http://thereifixedit.com/2009/10/28/rethinking-that-staycation/ repair an aircraft fuselage that had been mauled by a bear]]. As stated in the Live-Action Television section, this was confirmed by Mythbusters.

* After ''There, I Fixed It'' posted an authentic photo of the [[http://thereifixedit.com/2010/02/10/epic-kludge-photo-houston-we-have-duct-tape/ Apollo 13 air-scrubber rig]], the site received a submission from the [[http://thereifixedit.com/2010/02/18/epic-kludge-photo-the-next-best-thing-to-space-camp/ International Space Station]]. Duct tape has been, and likely will always be, standard issue on all space missions.

* And even fixing [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18884_the-7-most-horrifying-cost-cutting-measures-all-time.html aircraft engines]] (#6, 4th photo) and [[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A5484-2002Dec3 wings]].

* Duct tape makes for AWESOME splinting material. If you get two nice straight sticks, you can use duct tape to immobilize the limb beautifully. Just the duct tape alone wrapped a sufficient number of times, can be used to immobilize a joint if you don't have a splint handy.

* The US military has a stronger version called "100 mph" or "high speed" tape; both because it's said to be able to [[UrbanLegends hold a part on a Jeep at 100 mph]][[note]]a government-issue Jeep wouldn't be able to reach 100 mph unless it was pushed out of the back of a plane; one common explanation for this appellation (and the similar "500 mile an hour tape" term in the USMC) is that the sound of pulling a strip off the roll sounds like a vehicle going past at a high rate of speed[[/note]], and because "high speed" is Army slang for excellence. Army duct tape is typically olive drab or medium brown in color instead of silver, for obvious reasons.

The etymology of the word and whether it originated as "duck" tape is unclear, though the best bet is that it was first made out of a type of waterproof canvas called "duck". There IS a brand of duct tape called Duck Tape, but it's relatively new, and so named to deliberately capitalize on the joke. Not to be confused with Scotch Tape, although JustForFun/{{egregious}} use of duct tape can function as {{Handwav|e}}ium. International names include "silver tape" in Latin America, "gum tape" (''gamu teepu'') in Japan, "roadie tape" and "Jesus tape" (because it performs miracles) in Finland, "American tape" in Spain and Italy, "Panzertape" (armor tape/tank tape) in Germany (military grade, green), and "weave tape" or "silver tape" in Sweden, blue "isolenta" ("insulation tape") in Russia.

* Silk tape (Durapore in the US), which has a fairly heavy fabric base and much stronger adhesive than paper or plastic tapes, is the healthcare professional's answer to duct tape, with the added bonus of being nontoxic and hypo-allergenic. Go to any hospital and I guarantee you'll see at least one IV pole, vital-signs monitor or bed control that's been "repaired" with carefully applied silk tape.

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