Saw Horse Helper I was trying to saw a board to length and didn't have any clamp handy to secure it while cutting. I simply duck taped it to the sawhorse, made the cut, cut away the tape and continued working.- Mike B., St. Albans, WV

Jim's Razor Fix After spending a while trying to figure out what the buzzing sound was in the back of our car, we finally figured out that it was Jim's electric razor that had turned itself on in his suitcase. The problem was fixed with one little swatch of duct tape.

No More Squeeky Office My story is not one of great success but a small success for me. The office complex I work in has a finish on their floors which causes my most comfortable running shoes to squeak when I walk.  Since I do a lot of walking at my job, the constant squeaking was driving me crazy. yesterday morning when I arrived at work I had a Revelation.  what if, I thought to myself, I was to apply a strip of duct tape to the bottom of my shoes?  Well, let me tell you, it works like a charm.  In fact it works so good that I inadvertently scared a few coworkers, since they didn't hear me coming. I know it may not seem like much, but it's made me very happy. One more use for duct tape to add to the list of thousands.  Hooray for duct tape! - Cris

Grandpa, what's that? When we last visted my dad he had duct tape covering the bottom part of his TV which is always tuned to CNN. My son asked him, "Grandpa, what's the duct tape doing on the bottom of your television screen?" He replied, "Oh, that covers up them dang words that keep movin' across the bottom there... they make me dizzy!" Good think'in, Dad!

How to "Turn Off" a Skunk I have a friend that has a commercial greenhouse.  There are fans built into the wall near the floor and the ceiling to circulate air and maintain the temperature and humidity for the plants.  One morning, my friend came out to the greenhouse and there was a large skunk stuck in one of the fans.  Fortunately, and amazingly, it had not sprayed, as that would have seriously affected the retail value of the flowers in the greenhouse.  After much thought and debate about "what to do, what to do" the gathering crowd of onlookers, employees and interested persons decided that since a skunk can't spray unless it can fully raise its tail,  someone would duct tape the skunks' tail in the down (and off) position.  Once this was accomplished, my friend still had a stuck skunk in his fan.  He tried pulling and pushing, but to no avail.  He then dumped water on the misfortunate duct taped critter and squirted some dish soap on it.  He was able to back it out of the fan, and into a waiting garbage can.  He then took it to the Ranger Station, for a release into a more wild area.  Can you imagine the Ranger when he opened the garbage can to find a wet, sudsy, really really PO'ed skunk with its' butt taped shut.  Wonder how he got the tape off?  This is my best use for duct tape story. - Carol Adams

Duct Tape your way to a Warmer Home My wife (Dawn) duct taped real nice upholstery material to some foil faced foam sheets and we paneled the walls of our stone home. Note the big temperature difference. Seriously this is a great way to increase the comfort factor and save money in poorly insulated homes. - Fred W. Sturgeon Bay, WI

Fix a Broken Soul When my son Robbie was 7, he was in Sunday school.  The minister asked the class "Does anybody know how you fix a broken soul?"  Robbie raises his hand and says "My daddy can fix anything with duct tape" - Tim P., Elyria Ohio

Save the Birds
Save the Birds!
I was trimming up a tree in my front yard, and noticed after it was already down, that one of the branches contained a very small hummingbird nest with 2 tiny hummingbirds inside.  Upon closer examination, the birds were very much alive.  Needless to say, I felt horrible.  After consulting with the local university's bird sanctuary, they recommended trying to place the branch near the tree in hopes that the mom hummingbird would return.  I figured - I could do better then that - I can duct tape the branch back onto the tree in the very same spot it once was.  I'm happy to report that over the past week, the little birds have thrived, and we even saw one fly out of the nest.  Attached is a picture that shows the 2 little ones, with the duct tape in the background. - Kurt M., Savage, MN

"Scottish" Tape?
While at the New Hampshire Scottish Highland Gamers, the strongmen managed to crack the CABOR (a 12 foot wooden pole they try to throw, end over end). The picture on the right shows Sven Gustavson the overall winner, lifting the duct taped Cabor. Will the uses of duct tape ever end? - John G.

Bridgette's Menagerie
We met Bridgette S. of Martinez, California at one of our shows. Not only was she wearing one of our own "Queen of Duct Tape" t-shirts (available at the Duct Tape Pro Shop), she brought with her a bunch of stuff that she fashioned out of duct tape. Included in her collection were a wallet, purse, a wide assortment of animals including one that ate and pooped duct tape. Nice work, Bridgette! You absolutely qualify to wear that shirt!

Flush those Auto Flush Troubles Away!
Ever sit on a toilet that has one of those auto-flush sensors on it and get a surprise bath for your bottom when you lean forward on the seat? Put a little strip of duct tape over the sensor eye and you'll stay dry until you are done. Then, just remove the tape to flush.

Duct Tape: it will never let you down...
When my #1 child, Stefanie, went to Pitt as a freshman in 2001, the last thing I gave her, with a little speech was a roll of Duct Tape. I said something like "friends will let you down, things will break and need fixing and I won't be here to help, but this will never, ever let you down." She thought it was the dumbest thing in the world and very stupid.
 
It took a few months I think, but she told me on the phone that the Duct Tape is very useful. I bit my lip...
 
Anyway, she is getting married this Saturday to a great young man. I told my wife that during the evening dinner when I am supposed to toast them, I am going to give her and him a couple of rolls of Duct Tape, saying something like, "each of you must give 110% to make a marriage work, at times he or she will let you down and you must work through the problem, forgive and forget it, and another will come along and you must do the same thing with that one...each of you may at times let each other down, but THIS (giving each of them a bag with a roll of DT inside) will NEVER, EVER let you down." - Dave D., Landisville, PA

Leeza does duct tape A visit to Northwest Airline's World Club gave us a great duct tape sighting. Tim spotted a wad of duct taped phone books behind the rather tall reception desk. When he asked what that was, the hostess on duty said, "Oh, that's Leeza's. She's short and needs it to see the customers when she's standing behind the desk." Our next visit to the club gave us a personal introduction to the World Club Duct Tape Queen herself, Leeza. Here's Leeza with her phonebook stepstool and her locker key box - adorned and strengthened with crome Duck® brand duct tape. We think the World Clubs should enllist Leeza as their interior decorator! Heck, she'd save them big bucks over those trendy decorators that they've been using, and since Northwest is the preferred airlines of The Duct Tape Guys, we'd feel more at home in their clubs with duct tape decor!
(left) Leeza's locker key holder.

Smelly Fridge Fix
My family recently pulled together for many weekends to prepare my Mother's house for sale. In her garage she has a spare refrigerator to store frozen or large items that don't need immediate attention. As we got around to sorting through and trashing the piles of junk stored in the garage (which required a roll off dumpster), I mistakenly opened the refrigerator door and was almost knocked down by a forgotten open casserole dish. Instead of dealing with the science experiment on the spot, my Mother in her infinite wisdom suggested that we duct tape the side by side handles together so an overly nosey real estate agent or buyer wouldn't discover the mystery dish and run for the nearest exit. Apparently it worked because my Mother just accepted an offer on her house. Of course, we will have the fridge and it's contents removed before the new owners take occupancy. - Brad B., Marietta, GA

Dog toy surgery
Charles T.'s dog's little dog toy had "surgery" and recovered to chewable condition with a duct tape helmet, diaper, armband.

Walking Dishwasher I grew up with a brother who constantly used duct tape so when I saw your book at the library I just had to read it. Thanks to a broken wheel on our dishwasher, we put a small hole in our lanolieum floor. We tried clear tape first. It fell off and soon our hole grew and I kept tripping on it and making it grow more. Then I read your book and a lightbulb went off in my head . I need to use duct tape. So I did and the floor is fixed for now and I don't trip walking through my kitchen.- Brenda E. Casco, Michigan

How to Fight Off Boredom at Work
Some Co-workers and I got really bored working the night shift one week and we pooled our minds together to create the duct tape gladiator armor. Its complete with helmet, chest piece, skirt, shield, bracers, and shin guards. Total amount of materials used two and one half rolls of duct/duck tape, two boxes of tongue depressors (500 in each), about 4 feet of parachute cord. - Warren, Dover, DE

Paris Bus Repair I didn't do it, but I saw it. My wife and I were in Paris in April '08 waiting to board a tour bus to take us to Notra Dame when I noticed the left rear bumper of the bus. Even in France, Duct Tape has 1001 uses. The moral of this story is if you are going to buy a tour bus, be sure it's gray, so when you back into something and bang-up the bumper it's easily repaired with duct tape. - Del L. Benicia, CA

Hey, Tim - I'll tell ya a secret... Del didn't do it. I did. Don't tell nobody, okay?

Swimming Pool Reinforcement How do you keep a sagging pool upright? a ring of those foam pipe insulation tubes wrapped in duct tape and taped to the top right of the pool. Sorry that we lost the submitter's name - but this is a great idea never the less.

Alabama Silver Service? What do you give as a wedding shower gift if you REALLY care enough to give the very best? Just ask Rick and Kelly who concocted this gem. (With our apologies to folks from Alabama - could have just as well been Eau Claire, Wisconsin Silver Service, right Rick and Kelly?)

The weakest link - reinforce with duct tape...
They've fixed the problem now with a fancy magnetic break-away power cord, but in the old Mac Powerbooks, the weakest link was the power adapter cord which constantly broke (DUH! - Fire that guy!)
Jim came up with a great solution. Super duct tape the power cord connector so it can't bend. Sure, it looks dorky, but it works. High tech meets NO tech!

Duct Tape Dummy for Pepto Commercial
Something for all the low-budget filmmakers out there. We had to create fake legs to film our ad "Enter the Pepto". Put on tights... cover your legs with duct tape... cut the tights/duct tape off your legs... tape up the cuts... stuff the shell with newspaper... and voila... dummy legs (see attached). We dressed them in some pants and shoes and used them to shoot this Pepto Bismol commercial: click here.

Baby-Proofing on a Roll!
For new and frazzled moms on the go, a roll of duct tape in the diaper bag is your best friend, especially when visiting places that are not baby-proofed. (I chose pretty purple duct tape to match the diaper bag!) Here are some of the ways my roll saved the day - and my future generation:
I covered power outlets, taped the kitchen cabinet doors closed (especially the ones under the sink!), disabled doorknobs and stove knobs, taped locks to keep doors open, covered the exciting-looking TV and computer buttons, taped closed the curio cabinet, taped up dangerous window blind strings, covered window latches on upper floors, held together a fireplace cover, and taped a panel to the banister to serve as gate to prevent stair-climbing. And best of all, I could pull it all off easily when we left! In the car I have covered up the child door lock switch in my car so it couldn't be disabled accidentally (or on purpose!).  I also used it to hold up a sunshade when the suctions fell off. When my diaper bag broke, I put it back together with... Yup! Duct tape. And of course, since it was handy, I have used duct tape to fix toys, the stroller handle, a leaky bottle, broken board books, and torn pants. It is very good for picking up crumbs out of the car seat. I have labeled toys and clothes at daycare (use the light colors and a sharpie) and made a loop to attach the pacifier to the stroller so it couldn't hit the ground.
And I can't even count the diapers held together with tape after their tabs broke when he squirmed...
My child is a duct tape baby! The only down side is my son predictably tried to tape the cat. It was a narrow escape...

Disclaimer:
Of course duct tape does NOT replace careful supervision. There is no such thing as being truly baby-proof. But it sure helps make it easier. And you never should use it to keep them quiet or stationary (unless they are merely fascinated by it).  I started giving it as gifts to other moms, and it comes in all sorts of colors to match the nursery. - submitted by Danny

How to Grow a GIANT Pumpkin
I am growing giant pumpkins this year for the first time. I found that the main vine to one of the pumpkins was splitting. It was hard to turn the pumpkin to put less strain on the vine. I decided to use "duct tape" to mend the vine back together. It seems to work great and after one month, it is still holding and the pumpkin is still in good shape. - Jack R., Fremont, WI

Takin' Care of Storm Damaged Garden... We had a bad wind storm a few days ago, and our tomato plants took a beating.The plant where it branched out was torn in half but not completely separated. So I figured I had nothing to lose and I duct taped it together so we wouldn't lose the tomatoes that were started.It has been four days now and the plants look fine. We even had another storm and they are ok!!!!! - Patty G., Stromsburg, NE 

Musical Gum Shoe I play in an old time string band (The Roller Mills String Band). This past summer, we were playing on a stage where someone before us had chewed some gum and it was right in the middle of the stage where the band plays. After I stepped in it, I got it off my shoe, but I could not get it off the stage surface and was concerned that I would continue to step in it. So, I just took out my trusty duct tape and put a strip over the gum. - Dale P., The Roller Mills String Band

World's Oldest Existing Roll of Duct Tape?
We ran into Louis W. at the Orchard Suppy Hardware How-To Fair and he showed us a roll of duct tape from 1958. He said it was from the Korean War. Well, sorry Louis, it looks like it might be that old, but there are a couple of problems with your story: The Korean War ended in 1953 and zip codes (see inside of roll) were not introduced until 1963. And, Tim, being a graphic designer, thinks the logo looks more like the 1970s, design-wise. If there are any ARNO employees that can correctly identify the age of Louis' roll of duct tape, please let us know and we'll post it here.

Griffin's Recycling Bin
"Yeah, that's my recycling bin. I know it because I put a little bit of duct tape on it for easy identification..."

Duct Tape Dolphin Fountain We did this as prop for a new show we're performing
and it took a whole day... What do you have say about our royal fountain plus duct tape dolphin? - the Adam family

Strap Stay I have come up with a solution that everywoman has encountered in her life one time or other. The problem: The Bra strap slipping down over the shoulder. The solution: Put the strap back in place where it should be. Then put a small strip of duct tape over the strap and attach to your shoulder. It will stay in place all day. P.S. It doesn't hurt your skin when you remove the duct tape. - Rosalee in Ohio

Mike's Thermos Mike didn't want to give up his prized thermos just because the handle broke. So, out came the duct tape and fixed not only the handle, but made Mike's thermos very easy to distinguish from the others at his office.

Cheesecake Helper This past thanksgiving my brother-in-law made a delicious cheese cake. unfortunately, he took it from the spring pan before it had a chance to set. the cake started to spread out into a mushy mess. not to have our desert ruined he wrapped foil around the cake and then wrapped duck tape around the foil. it worked!!!! the cake set and by the time we had it - no one was wiser to what had happened. DUCK TAPE SAVED THE DAY!! - Kathy, Kearny, NJ

John's Notebook Not wanting a mismatched bag and notebook, John took to the black and brown duct tape to design a durable matching cover for his field sales notebook.

Duct Tape Server Just thought you guys would like to know, we have constructed yet another Duct Tape Server!  Our previous construction succumbed to gravity and could not be saved.  We documented the whole process on our website ducttapeserver.com.  We appreciated the nod we got from you guys last year! BTW We are from Loveland, Ohio, USA and not Germany.  The Germans sure did love our last creation though, we think we may have just blown their minds. - Professor Xomox

Caffeine Keeper Duct tape saved my cup of coffee. I had just bought a large 16 oz.stryo cup, and within a few minutes noticed that the bottom was leaking. Instead of throwing it out, got out the roll of duct tape and put two pieces on the bottom, and another wrap around the side. Saved the day. - Butch T., Maine

Duct Tape Dispenser ala Rick Here's Jim's cousin Rick's Duct Tape Dispenser. Rick and his wife and their duct tape dispenser (and other misc. critters who have yet to be ducttapeized) live in Park City, Utah.

Teenage Mutant Ninja EGG? I was decorating Easter eggs yesterday afternoon with my mom, when I realized that our creations were lacking something. After a few minutes of thinking, I knew what it was: duct tape!  I knew I had to incorporate duct tape into my masterpiece somehow, but I wasn't sure in what way. So I just started fooling around with different ideas, when it hit me: how awesome would a Ninja Easter egg be? With a small strip of duct tape wrapped around my egg, I dyed it green and decorated it like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.  Cool huh? - Diana G., Pittsford, NY