“‘Duck tape’ is also reported variously to have been called ‘military tape,’ ‘gun tape,’ and ‘ammo tape‘ during World War II, when it was invented, developed, and first used. . . .

The versatility of the tape made it a natural thing for GIs to bring back to the States. . . . The original army green (olive drab) color of the tape . . . changed to its now-familiar sheet-metal gray, whose metallic cast better matched the galvanized ductwork on which it was used. Thus it began to be called and sold as ‘duct tape,’ a name that divorced the product from its military origins.”

—Henry Petroski, Small Things Considered, 2003.