We live in a duct-tape world.
Nobody knows that better than the Duct-Tape Guys, Tim Nyberg and Jim Berg.
“It’s the ultimate power tool,” Nyberg said. “We know; we’re duct-tape evangelists.”
They’re stuck on their favorite subject. The team of brothers-in-law has written seven books (and 15 years’ worth of page-a-day calendars) about the ubiquitous tape.
“It’s got thousands of uses, including some pretty incredible stuff, but who’s counting?” Nyberg said. “It’s limitless what you can do.”
Their motto: “It’s not broke; it just needs duct tape.”
It’s a perfect philosophy for penny-pinching times, added Nyberg, which helps explain why they’ve sold more than 3 million copies of their books and calendars.
“It’s a budget stretcher on a roll — and an HMO, too,” Nyberg said. “Duct tape is great for wart removal, setting bones and emergency sutures.”
Nyberg, 56, and Berg, 46, tape just about everything, from head to toe. They’ve created entire wardrobes out of duct tape. (“That jacket is really hot,” Nyberg admitted about his home-show duds, “but it is mostly plastic; duct tape doesn’t breathe.”)
Their work inspired Duck brand’s “Stuck at Prom” contest — students make whole tuxedos and dresses out of tape — and thousands of Halloween costumes.
“Duct tape is intrinsically funny,” Nyberg said. “And it’s easily adaptable to any situation.”
That’s part of the charm of their act, which sticks to crazy uses. For instance, two rubber chickens taped end to end become a “kinder, gentler” martial-arts weapon: “num-clucks.”
A duct-tape smoke detector? Try Jiffy-Pop popcorn cans taped to the ceiling.
Picnic pest control? Try a fly swatter taped to the burger flipper.
“We get lots of laughs,” Nyberg said. “Our shows are all wacky goofball stuff.”
“You should see the looks we get from airport security,” Nyberg said.
Duct tape wasn’t invented for ductwork, he said. According to lore, it was developed during World War II to keep moisture out of ammunition cases. The core was made from cotton duck cloth (commonly used for bandages) with a plastic coating on one side and adhesive on the other, hence “duck tape.”
Originally made only in camouflage colors, the tape found a postwar career in the home-building industry as construction crews used it to patch and seal heating and ventilation ducts. That’s when “duck tape” became “duct tape” (and turned silver-gray, to match the ductwork).
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
