New rolls from Algeria and Belgium

The black roll #56 is from Annaba, Algeria and came from Leila Belakhdar who is a special education teacher at Leopold elementary school in Madison, WI. Leila and my daughter Mindy, work together there. The tape was bought in Algiers. Leila has been in the U.S. for 33 years and said she had trouble getting people to understand what she was looking for when she asked for Duct Tape. One of her friends suggested they try asking in French, chatter ten and this is what they got. Leila's husband is also from Annaba. He owns the Mediterranean Cafe on State street in downtown Madison and we had a nice visit with them about the tape and Algeria.

The roll on the right is from Belgium and was purchased in Brussels by Rick Finley. Rick grew up in Darlington, WI and was contacted by Don Osterday whom I taught with at Darlington High School for many years. Rick now lives in Wakeforest, North Carolina and was in Belgium this summer visiting his daughter. I will be sending Rick a couple of micro-rolls of key chain Duct Tape for his help in adding to the collection.

Keep checking the blog to see more about past and future rolls in the collection. If you want to help add a roll check the blog post index and click on the updated list of rolls post I now have in the collection.

Micro Duct Tape Rolls

Making these brought back a childhood memory of helping my grandmother plant her garden. My job was to carefully tear off the top of each little seed packet for her. After she planted the seeds she would give me back the empty package and I would place it over a stick at the end of the row to mark the row. After several rows my uncle Charlie approached and handed me an envelope and said, "Don't forget these". I carefully ripped it open and gave it to my Grandma. I watched as she poured the contents out in her hand. They were little brown, round "seeds" with holes in them, like Cheerios. When I asked what kind of seeds they were they said, "Don't you know? These are Donut Seeds!"  Well these could be Duct Tape Seeds. Just plant them and they grow into full sized rolls! Really.

These little Duct Tape rolls, about one inch in diameter and one-quarter inch wide are going to be used to promote the World Duct Tape collection and blog. Each one has the blog address on it  ducttape2thefuture.blogspot  and comes with a key chain so it can be attached to something to keep it handy.

The first step in the process is to load the arbor with six of the cores used to wind the Duct Tape on.

The loaded winding arbor is placed in the lathe in front of the tape slitter.

Duct Tape is feet from the supply roll thru the slitter and wound up on the six micro cores.

The wound arbor is now removed from the lathe and the individual micro rolls are broken off ready to have the blog address label applied and key chain added.

Can't wait to send out the first one to the person or persons that gets a signed roll from a country that I do not have yet for the World Duct Tape collection.

Project Deep Tape

With the new school year getting started the story about this roll should help get OM'ers back into the swing of things. Problem : Compare and contrast the 4462 meters below sea level this roll and styrofoam cup were. To the 205 miles above sea level, the Duct Tape from the ISS and signed by 15 astronauts.

In 2007 Turtle Haste, a science teacher in Albuquerque, NM (that I got to know while I was working to get a roll of Duct Tape from Phil Jacobsen in Antarctica, another story for later) went on a one week trip for teachers with NOAA that summer. She knew about the Duct Tape from the ISS and in true OM fashion came up the idea to send a roll down on the CTD (Conductivity - Temperature - Depth recorder) that the ship used for its research.

Here you can see the CTD scientific instrument and I say that because this thing takes extremely accurate readings of electrical conductivity, temperature and depth. No idea how expensive it is but would think plenty! Anyhow below the cylinders you can see a mesh bag loaded with "stuff" that the teachers wanted to see what the pressure at the bottom would do to it. Sounds like great OM fun.

Here is the roll of Duct Tape that Turtle sent down 4462 meters below sea level plus several styrofoam cups.

Flat Stanley? If you turn your head you can see two cups that were exposed to the ocean pressure at 4462 meters next to a regular cup. How much pressure?  Well for every 10.06 meters down, the pressure increases by 14.5 psi (1 bar). So have some "serious fun" and figure it out then when someone asks you what you did this summer you will have something unique to tell them. Thanks to Turtle Haste, a teacher in Albuquerque, NM  and a roll of Duct Tape!

 

What are the chances?

Google  Matthew Gast EVA  and you can read his 11-13-08 interview he did about the work he does as an EVA (extravehicular activities) Trainer.


Believe it or not last Friday 6-13-14 I am in my pole shed working on a little project for the Duct Tape collection to bring to OM World Finals next year. Into the driveway pulls a car and out jumps the guy that has handled my insurance and investments for the last year and a half. He was in the area, it was a nice day, he had some time and thought he would just drop in. He asks, "What are you working on?"

My former advisor retired from the company a year and a half ago and Matt his replacement. I told Matt that I was working on my Duct Tape collection. He was puzzled, but he was interested and I began to explain the collection and pointed to the U.S. and World maps in the shed surrounded with all the rolls of Duct Tape. He was impressed and I explained to him how I had some extra special Duct Tape to show him. Duct Tape from the International Space Station (ISS - 13 mission) signed by 15 astronauts!

As I show Matt the tape he says to me, "I told you I worked for NASA didn't I?" I said no I didn't know that. I asked how long? Matt tells me he worked for them from 1999 to 2011. Then as he looks at the astronauts signatures on the Duct Tape from STS - 115 and 121 missions he says, "I know these guys. I worked with them in the NBL (Neutral Buoyancy Lab) in Huston as a trainer working with them to build the ISS." I am dumb founded to say the least! The he shows his arm and the tattoo he got while working at the NBL. This is the real deal! NASA has a great web site and lots of information on the NBL and what goes on there if you want to read more about it. It's awesome!

I am looking forward to learning and sharing more of the stories of future Duct Tape collections and the people involved. Keep thinking how you might help get a roll from a country not on the list.
  
I ask you, really, "What are the chances?"

Ed Smylie signs roll of Duct Tape for world collection

Ed Smylie, oversaw NASA's crew systems division in 1970 and was presented with GlobalSpec's Great Moments in Engineering Award in 2005 for his work in concocting a plan using plastic bags, cardboard and Duct Tape to save the Apollo 13 crew after their space craft was crippled by an explosion.

The problem was that the square CO2 filters from the command module needed to be used in the lunar module's round openings or the crew would die of CO2 poisoning!  Here is a picture of the solution to the problem. For more pictures and details of how Ed's team communicated this to the astronauts to build in space  Google  Ed Smylie  .

If you would like to help complete the World Duct Tape collection it's easy. Go to the second post on this blog for a list of countries I already have signed rolls from. Get your roll from a country not on the list and have it signed inside by a person living in that country, also have them write in the city and country the roll is from. I will be happy to reimburse you for the cost of the roll and postage to get it to me. Send along the story of how you got the roll and I'll post it on this blog.

Just mail it to Dick Anderson  11672 Center Hill Road Darlington, Wisconsin 53530 U.S.A. 
or e mail me at  richard640@centurytel.net if you have questions.  Thanks in Advance.

Duct Tape from the International Space Station

Hello Omers and all others interested in Duct Tape. Hope everyone had a safe return home after the 2014 World Finals in Ames, Iowa. Great week and hope that many visitors will be checking this blog to see and help with collection rolls of Duct Tape from all over the world.

Since collection my first roll from an OM team from China on 5-31-04 at Maryland World Finals a lot has happened. One of the highlights was getting duct tape (called cargo tape) that was on the ISS.

The story goes like this - In 2006 my students were in the process of laying out a full sized outline of the ISS on the playground next to the school. I saw a news report of a live video call that an astronaut on board the ISS was making to students of Winter High School in Winter, Wisconsin USA. This caught my attention and I found out that the astronaut was ISS-13 Science Officer Jeff Williams from Winter, WI. I knew that NASA used Duct Tape and had seen pictures taken inside the ISS where rolls of Duct Tape were visible. I thought how cool it would be to get a roll from the ISS signed by an astronaut. Thinking that maybe Jeff's parents might still live in Winter I searched and sure enough. There was a Lloyd Williams listen. I mailed a letter telling Lloyd about OM and duct tape and if he thought Jeff might be able to help us out. He contacted Jeff on the ISS for the next six months and Jeff said he was interested and would help us out.

He would not be able to bring back a roll, however, he made a project out of it and in true OM fashion solved the problem.  Jeff covered an ISS Cue Card with Cargo Tape. Then got the three ISS 13 astronauts to sign it. During the next six months STS  115 and STS 121 made trips to the ISS and Jeff got them to also sign the tape!  Fifteen astronauts in all!! The signatures are in three columns and I have listed each below with their mission number if you want to do more research on them.

1st Column
Wisconsin - Jeff Williams - ISS 13  MS
New Jersey - Mark Kelly - STS 121 Pilot
Washington DC - Lisa Nowak - STS 121 MS
Massachusetts - Stephanie Wilson - STS121 MS

2nd Column
California - Steven Lindsey - STS121 CMD
South Dakota - Mike Fossum - STS 121 MS
United Kingdom - Piers Sellers - STS 121 MS
Russia - Pavel Vinogradov - ISS 13 CMD

3rd Column
Michigan - Brent Jett - STS 115 CMD
Canada - Steven MacLean - STS 115 MS
Germany - Thomas Reiter - STS 121 and Expedition 13
Illinois - Joe Tanner - STS 115 MS
Pennsylvania - Chris Ferguson - STS 115 Pilot
Connecticut - Dan Burbank - STS 115 MS
Minnesota - Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper  - STS 115 MS

This is the folder I keep "the tape from space" in. 

And now you know the story about "the tape from space". I hope that you enjoy and might be able to help or spread the word about this blog to get signed rolls of Duct Tape from the world countries I don't have. Check the list found on the previous blog entry. Keep checking for new rolls being added and the story that goes with them. Maybe you will be part of the story.

Remember - Duct Tape holds the world together.

The World Duct Tape roll list to date

Well, have arrived at OM in Ames, Iowa and have started spreading the word  on ducttape2thefuture blog and duct tape roll collection. Have given out several of the lists of countries and dependencies that I have rolls from.

Here is the list to let any readers or followers of this blog know what to look for. Especially this week as the countries of Hungary, Indonesia, South Korea, Togo and several Russian teams are competing.


As of 12-11-16  rolls I HAVE are:
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Aruba
Antarctica
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bhutan 
Bonaire
Brazil
Canada
Czech republic
Chile
China
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Denmark
East Jerusalem
Ecuador
England
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
India
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Luxembourg
Mexico
Morocco #67 as of 12-11-16
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Norway
Pakistan
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Romania
Singapore
Scotland
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
St. Martin
St. Thomas
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
U.S.A.
Vietnam
Wales
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Wow that is a lot of typing for a non-typer like me.
So this will do it for tonight.

Odyssey of Mind 2014 World Finals - Don't leave home without your Duct Tape

As I prepare to leave for the 2014 OM World Finals tomorrow, held this year in Ames, Iowa I got a brainstorm to start a blog about my Duct Tape collection that began in 2004 as an OM coach at Darlington High School.

It all started out pretty simple. In 2004 the World Finals were being held at the U of Maryland in Maryland state. I thought it would be cool to buy a roll of duct tape in every state we drove through on the trip. To make it special (OM communications and learning experience) I would also have the store clerk sign the roll (name, date, city and state) on the inside with a Sharp!

Then I thought "what if" we got rolls from all the different OM teams at World Finals? Could we make connections and get rolls from all fifty states? (Fast forward - That took some doing but on 5-22-2006 I got the last state, Mississippi! It was signed by Ken Barlow of Florence, MS 39073 a friend of my daughters friend, now husband, Kurt Lindsley!) That's the map and all the rolls on the left. I kept a logbook for each roll and the story for each roll. Pretty interesting stuff and I will share more on it in later posts to come.

Then I thought "what if" I got a roll from each of the world countries?   So the quest was on. To date I have rolls from 55 world countries each roll signed by a citizen or documentation that the roll actually came from that country. This work has slowed a bit but still continues and I hope this blog and my trip to work as an official at this years OM World Finals jump starts the collecting.

Our high school OM teams were pretty successful and I was lucky enough to coach teams that went to World Finals 6 times before I retired in 2010.  Now NASA is a big supporter of OM and that got me thinking..."what if" I got a roll from the space shuttle or International Space Station? How cool would that be! Well have I have the tape and a story to tell...

Later I'll be posting a list of the countries I have and if any readers are interested in helping get rolls from the remaining world countries I would be happy to hear from you. I'm thinking maybe David Letterman might be interested in having the collection on his show before he retires. I'll let you know how the collecting went when I get back after World Finals is over.