Slashdot Mirror
Duct Tape Goes Minature
metal_llama writes "There is a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about a man, Christopher Blummel, who "has a vision for a better world - one where every man would carry in his wallet a small cellophane packet containing a product that can come in handy in an emergency. Duct tape." This is exactly what I've always wanted: an ever-handy supply of duct tape."
I'm not sure what I'm more speechless about. That this guy got a patent, or that this made Slashdot.
Duct tape is great stuff, if only because no othery type of tape is as strong, and I can really understand the need to carry it around for unexpected situations, but at the price he's trying to get for it, there's no way it'll catch on.
Of course, provided he wasn't granted a patent for it, 3-rd parties should be imitating it in no time, and selling it for a fraction of the cost.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
This is simultaneously both the most pointless and the coolest post ever to be on the front page.
"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
Actually, you forgot one...if it moves, and you don't want it to...WD-40 can make a pretty decent bug spray for small applications (most flying beasties get bogged down pretty well with a little lubing).
Chaos, panic, disorder...my work here is done.
I don't recall that I've ever owned or used a roll of duct tape. The stuff is a cludge, and there's almost always a better way to do something: glue, rope, wire, nails, rivets.
I just don't go for the cludgy/temporary fix; I'd rather take a few extra minutes and do it right. Duct tape is sticky, leaves a resudue, fails in high heat, deteriorates quickly and smells funky.
I still don't understand why it's called "duct tape" when ducting is the one thing you DON'T want to use it for.
Article X: The powers not delegated... by the Constitution...are reserved...to the people
Generally when I find I need duct tape, I'm gonna need more than I'd be able to fit in my wallet...
But I guess some duct tape is better than no duct tape, right?
Backpackers have been doing this for years. Just wrap a couple of feet of duck tape around a pencil or straw and put it in your repair kit. I'm always looking for items that can be used for more than one purpose, but I won't be buying this dude's "invention.
Who or what authority has control over our patent office? Maybe Congress? I don't know, but this crap with patenting the obvious has to end.
The sad thing is that there are a lot of people out there who will buy anything. I've even seen shareware that does the exact same thing your operating system already does. And people buy it! Go figure.