"Duck cloth" is a type of canvas, in case that's unclear. 🤓

"Duck tape" was originally conceived in 1943 during World War II by Vesta Stoudt, an ordnance plant worker and mother of two U.S. Navy sailors. After local plant supervisors ignored her idea, she wrote directly to President Roosevelt on February 10, 1943, including explanatory diagrams. Roosevelt forwarded the letter to the War Production Board, which tasked Johnson & Johnson’s Revolite division to manufacture the heavy-duty cotton-duck and rubber-adhesive tape.

WWII GIs would use it to waterproof their artillery cases and it got the code name Duck Tape because water flowed off it & like water off a duck’s back. After the war, during the housing boom, ex-GIs realized the tape had a multitude of applications around the home for general repairs.

Despite the name it eventually adopted, modern building codes often prohibit using traditional cloth-backed duct tape on actual HVAC ductwork because the adhesive can dry out, fail, or become a fire hazard under heat and pressure. The original name was later reclaimed commercially by the Duck Brand.

It's alright, though. Many people are simply tired and can't be bothered to read for pleasure, much less self-improvement. Same as it ever was.

Interesting how the name pretty much stayed the same with modern popular products!

That does explain why it would work well with floods if originally designed to be waterproof. Like lost knowledge refound (at least by some!)