My two cents contribution to the duct tape thread ..... Some ten years ago, when I was a recent immigrant, speaking broken english and double dutch, I immediately realized that duct tape was a major ingredient of American, twentieth century daily life. But I just couldn't figure out why it was called "duck tape." Until years later I found out the name was really "duct tape." Following this thread, I now don't understand why it's called "duct tape." Go figure .... (Name withheld by editor)