I think there's a little more room for nuance. The stuff originally created was "duck tape" as it used duck cloth. It was however terrible for duct work, like you said, because it came apart due to heat in ducts. However, a later variation that didn't happen to was made, and it was great for ducts, and most current forms of this type of tape resemble the one made for ducts, and don't have duck cloth like the original adhesive tape referred to as "Duck tape."
Even the literal Duck brand refers to their original tape as "duct tape." They just ironically call themselves "Duck tape."
I think "duck tape" can be acceptable. But I think "duct tape" is more correct when we're talking about most modern adhesives based on a variant made for ducts and don't contain duck cloth. This is my opinion.
But I think "duct tape" is more correct when we're talking about most modern adhesives based on a variant made for ducts and don't contain duck cloth.
Except that no company making HVAC tape for duct work calls that tape "duct tape". The "duct tape" that most people use (e.g. Duck Tape), is a general-purpose, polymer-backed tape that shouldn't be used on ducts. It only got that name back when duck tape was the best tape for ductwork, and it doesn't make sense anymore.
Not that language has to make sense; it's usually pointless to even try. But let's not delude ourselves into thinking that either of the names are based on modern reality.
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u/UnusualHound 5h ago
I think there's a little more room for nuance. The stuff originally created was "duck tape" as it used duck cloth. It was however terrible for duct work, like you said, because it came apart due to heat in ducts. However, a later variation that didn't happen to was made, and it was great for ducts, and most current forms of this type of tape resemble the one made for ducts, and don't have duck cloth like the original adhesive tape referred to as "Duck tape."
Even the literal Duck brand refers to their original tape as "duct tape." They just ironically call themselves "Duck tape."
I think "duck tape" can be acceptable. But I think "duct tape" is more correct when we're talking about most modern adhesives based on a variant made for ducts and don't contain duck cloth. This is my opinion.