DUCK TAPE FESTIVAL - NOV 7-11

Who doesn't think DUCK TAPE (or DUCT TAPE, if you prefer) is AWESOME?!  It's probably one of the coolest things ever invented.  It's SO cool that Avon, Ohio holds a DUCT TAPE FESTIVAL every year in its honor.  SO, we thought it would be super cool to hold our very own DUCK TAPE FESTIVAL here in Blogville, with our Mayor Frankie Furter presiding over the festivities and we'll be co-hosting.

To get you in a duck tape frame of mind, we're gonna share some little known facts about duck tape -

Did you know that duck tape was originally invented to help ducklings stay close to their moms, like so -

Can you see the duck tape?

Wha-?  Huh?  Mom's telling us that is NOT the reason duck tape was invented.  Hmmmm, well how about this -

Duct tape (the WWII military version) was first created and manufactured in 1942 (approximate date) by the Johnson and Johnson Permacel Division. Its closest predecessor was medical tape. 

The original use was to keep moisture out of the ammunition cases. Because it was waterproof, people referred to the tape as "Duck Tape." Also, the tape was made using cotton duck - similar to what was used in their cloth medical tapes. Military personnel quickly discovered that the tape was very versatile and used it to fix their guns, jeeps, aircraft, etc. After the war, the tape was used in the booming housing industry to connect heating and air conditioning duct work together.

Soon, the color was changed from Army green to silver to match the duct work and people started to refer to duck tape as "Duct Tape." Things changed during the 1970s, when the partners at Manco, Inc. placed rolls of duct tape in shrink wrap, making it easier for retailers to stack the sticky rolls. Different grades and colors of duct tape weren´t far behind. Soon, duct tape became the most versatile tool in the household.

Okay, that works, too. 

So, on with the celebration.  We thought we'd do this in TWO parts and you can enter EITHER or BOTH. 

One part will be a DUCK TAPE IN ACTION contest.  What we'll be looking for here are random sitings of duck tape used in more of a practical or functional way.  The sitings can be at your own house or somewhere out in the world.   Say, for instance, you use duck tape to keep your leash in one piece 'cause SOMEBODY chewed it apart.  That would be a good entry for DUCK TAPE IN ACTION.  Or if you happen to see something like this in your travels away from home -

An excellent example of DUCK TAPE IN ACTION

PART DEUX - DUCK TAPE ART will be a contest of your ARTISTIC skills using DUCK TAPE as your medium.  We want you to create something using ONLY DUCK TAPE (or duct tape).  You can use any or every color you want. It can be functional and serve a purpose like this -

OR this . . .

OR it can be purely decorative, like this -

Flower by QuietMischief

We don't have many rules, but we think this one probably bears mentioning - DO NOT USE LIVE THINGS in your entries.  Like this, for example -

THIS IS A NO NO!

SO, are you psyched yet?  Got your DUCK TAPE ideas all ready to go? 

Here's where you send 'em in by Friday, November 4-

DUCK TAPE IN ACTION Photos - email to Mayor Frankie at  frankiefurter (AT) wildblue (DOT) net

DUCK TAPE ART Photos - email to The Road Dogs at roaddog (AT) road-dog-tales (DOT) com or just click on our "EMAIL US" link at the top of the blog.

We'll keep you posted with details as we think of them.  But, you can start sending in your pics anytime!

The Road Ducks, um, DOGS!