Vesta Oral Stoudt
Personal Information
Born: 1891 or 1906
Died: 1966
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Unknown
Professional Life
Field of Study: Inventor
Institution/Corporation: Johnson & Johnson
Degrees & Memberships: None found
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1943 War Worker Award, Chicago Tribune
Achievements: 1943 invented duct tape a waterproof tape to keep moisture out of ammo cases during WWII; originally made by Permacel a division of Johnson & Johnson; originally called Duck Tape because it was made of cotton duck fabric sandwiched between a layer of adhesive & a coat of polyethylene that cause water to bead on it like "water off a duck's back;" it is now required equipment on all manned space missions after it was used to repair apollo 17
Inventor of Duct Tape
Was a factory worker at Green River Ordnance Plant in Amboy, IL during WWII; had 2 sons in the Navy; while packing ammo boxes noticed the way they were sealed made it difficult to open them & was concerned about military personnel in dangerous situations trying to open them to be able to reload their weapons in a hurry
Was unable to get supervisors or government inspectors to buy into her new packing tape method to solve the problem; 2/10/1943, wrote a letter to FDR explaining the problem & her solution, requesting he take action immediately; received a response from the War Production Board on 3/26/1943, informing her her suggestion was being implemented & her idea was "of exceptional merit"
Revolite Corporation was tasked with with making the tape (Johnson & Johnson was their parent company) & they credit her with the invention of duct tape