People who are familiar with the many names and uses of duct tape know the adhesive's magic.
The sticky substance with the mallard-like name can fix almost everything from cars to coats, book binding to bed sheets, and, if applied correctly, maybe even the kitchen sink.
Now the federal government has seen its virtue and is listing duct tape as an essential ingredient in every American's terror emergency kit.
Last week, U.S. Fire Administrator David Paulison released a list of things people should have on hand in the event of a terrorist attack. The list includes many items that are commonly stocked during natural disasters, such as radios, batteries, food and fresh water. Unique to the terror emergency kit list are duct tape and plastic sheeting, which officials say can be used to seal doors and windows during a biological, chemical or radiological attack.
As a result, stores have seen a surge in the sale of these items locally and nationally. "There has been an increase in the sale of those products," said Jason Foster, assistant manager of Lowes of State College, 249 Lowes Blvd.
But despite the increase, Foster said there is no direct evidence to link the sale of duct tape and plastic sheeting to the emergency kit list.
Debbie Kirkpatrick, manager of Sears Roebuck & Co, 2999 E. College Ave., said sales of duct tape have been about normal. But she added the weather is probably playing a part in causing sales not to increase. Sears has a separate display with flashlights, batteries, plastic sheeting and duct tape because of the recent news reports about emergency preparedness, Kirkpatrick said.
She added a few people have bought both plastic sheeting and duct tape in the last few days, but there is no way to tell what they were using it for.
Marco Olivieri (sophomore-management science and information systems) said he doesn't understand why people think duct tape and plastic sheeting will make them safe. He said he thinks it is just the government's way of making people feel better.
Olivieri acknowledged that he thinks those products could help a little bit in the event of such an attack, but thought it wouldn't work well enough to make it worthwhile.
