"[I]f I had to live my life again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week…The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature." --Charles Darwin

Sunday, June 6, 2010

It's prom season! Got tape?


Some of these kids can really go over the top with these prom get-ups. Like this couple--I mean, really; a prince and princess? What is this, Halloween? What could those outfits have cost?

Not too much, as it turns out. These prom outfits are made entirely of duct tape. Yes, it's Duct Tape Prom time again, and the winners receive scholarship prize money, and an important lesson about working with and extending available resources.

You can read about the competition, vote on this year's competitors and see galleries of competitors from past years here.

And although the brand name is "Duck Tape" the term is duct tape. It seems the stuff began when the US Military added plastic covering to cloth medical tape in order to make it waterproof. The initial deployment was to seal ammunition containers from moisture. After the war, air conditioning and heating contractors found it useful for sealing gaps, and the color changed from olive drab to silver to match the duct work. Now there are 20 colors marketed and it is a vehicle for creativity. (What isn't?) You can listen to a radio story about it from the NPR show Studio 360 right here:

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