Access Control
& Security Systems

“You don't want to be the only mother on the block who didn't [buy] it. The guilt alone would kill you — never mind the chemical attack.”
— New York City resident Hilary Williams, waiting in line to buy duct tape.²

“We say duct tape in the wrong hands is a dangerous weapon. But then again, so is an egg beater.”
— Tim Nyberg, author of five volumes of “The Duct Tape Book”³

“Mr. Wiley continued to interrupt [attorney Steve Hamilton], so the court duct-taped his mouth until the jury came in.”
— Lubbock, Texas District Judge Jim Bob Darnell, who had enough of defendant Carl Wiley's repeated courtroom interruptions.⁴

“Oh, and yes, I have to say, stash away the duct tape. Don't use it. Stash it away.”
— Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, on using the tape as part of an emergency bioterrorism preparedness kit.

“Some guy with his family just went over and tackled her around the neck and got her down. Then they went and got some duct tape because she was kicking so bad.”
— Rental car attendant Kay Bammel on restraining a deer that had wandered into the security area of the Omaha, Neb. airport.⁵

“I suppose it should come as no surprise to any of us that, as reported by the Washington Post, the founder of a company that sells nearly half the duct tape in America is a major donor to the Republican Party, to the tune, apparently, of $100,000 in the 2000 election.”
— Philip Graham, columnist⁶

“Want to protect yourself against terror? Take a roll of duct tape — by now you probably have plenty of that — and cut it carefully into eight 19-inch strips. Take those strips and cover the screen of your TV.”
— Bob Garfield, columnist⁷

“We should not cede this issue to a party and a president whose idea of Homeland security is plastic wrap and duct tape.”
— Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.)⁸

“There'd be a greater possibility of my picking it up if it were available the way toilet paper is [in residence halls], but I might pick it up for other reasons. I might just need duct tape.”
— NYU student Nick Marian, responding to the school's announcement that they have plastic sheets and duct tape available for dorm residents.⁹

“Duct tape and plastic sheeting? When the threat level goes down, it'll be downgraded to Scotch tape and two Ziploc bags.”
— Comedian Jay Leno¹⁰