A new role from the South Pole

How "cool" is this? Another role from Antarctica this time the  South Pole. This roll comes from my daughter's next door neighbor, Chris. He works for the UWMadison and has been to Antarctica several times working on specialized ice drills. This time it was in connection with the ARA (Askaryan Radio Array) project that is an extremely large detector under construction near the South Pole. ARA is designed to detect and measure high-energy neutrinos from spacey observing the radio pulses they generate as they pass through the ice.

They will be drilling arrays of 5 holes each 200m deep and then placing detectors in each hole. The groups are arranged in a hexagon pattern with 2km between each array for a total of 185 holes. No small feat considering the weather conditions.

In a nut shell. The drill looks like this and uses hot water to drill an 8" diameter hole over 600 feet deep.

 This is the reel that holds the 600 + feet of hose that delivers hot water to the drill. The reel was so large that it had to be designed to be tilted 45 degree so it can fit into a C 130's cargo hold for the flight to the South Pole.

The entire Drill Rig needed to be built as a stand alone unit and was mounted to three sled for movement on the ice. Fuel and snow melter in the front. Generators and hydraulics in the middle and the reel in the back.

This is the kind of stuff Chris is working on and he thought about the World Duct Tape collection as he used roll after roll of this special pipe tape everyday drilling. He said it was the only tape they could fine that would stick to the wet and cold environment.

I spent a lot of time reading up on the ARA project and if you are interested and want to learn more about this project and process of drilling ice check out this link ara.wipac.wisc.edu/home

Collecting Duct Tape has helped me learn many new things about the world that I never imagined. Collect a roll for the collection I don't have, send it to me and I will send you one of these 1 of 200 engraved challenge coins for your effort. I will also post your story of getting the role on the blog.

If you want to know all the countries already in the collection click on the link for the latest list ducttape2thefuturelist.blogspot.com.      Happy collecting

12 "easy" steps to getting a roll of Duct Tape for the collection

Greetings fellow followers in the quest for Duct Tape. It has been a great year for Duct Tape collection and I thought I would share my latest addition to the World Duct Tape Collection, roll number 79 from the Bahamas and the 12 "easy" steps in getting this roll. This may help others that have thought about getting a roll to add to the collection but need some help in how to go about it.

Step # 1 DETERMINE THE COUNTRY YOU WANT TO GET A ROLL FROM
Click on the link to se the latest list of countries I have to date.
ducttape2thefuturelist.blogspot.com

Study the World Duct Tape list of countries that I do not have rolls from. Decide on a country to visit that is not on the list. I thought the Bahamas would be a nice place this time of year to get a roll from.

Step # 2 DECIDE HOW YOU ARE GOING TO GET THEIR.  Think BIG!

How about a Disney Cruse? That should work nicely.

Step # 3  BEGIN THE JOURNEY.
Remember you are on a journey to get the roll and make a memory.

Step # 4 TAKE ALONG FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

Step # 5 TREAT YOURSELF NICE.
You want to have some nice memories to go along with the details of the story as to how you got your roll of Duct Tape to add to the World Duct Tape Collection.

Step # 6 LET THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE UP TO.
Enjoy some good food and get to know your servers and tell them what you are up to. Eddie was a good source of information on where to get Duct Tape when we docked at Nassau the next day. Also there were people from over 60 countries working on the ship. So something might come up in the future as they sail the world from port to port.

Step # 7 PREPARE YOURSELF.
Start the morning off with a good cup of coffee. A roll of Duct tape isn't going to just jump off a store shelf and sign it's self for you. Obtaining a roll will take,  determination and considerable effort. It is not a job for the faint of heart or anyone not willing to solve problems.

Step # 8 TALK TO THE LOCALS.
Officer #3193 was patrolling the Main Street in Nassau as they were fencing off the streets getting ready for the Boxing Day celebration and parade. In the Bahamas the day after Christmas is Boxing Day, a national holiday when most shops are closed. (Boxing Day came about as a tradition where slave owners would give the boxes that Christmas gifts were shipped in from England to their slaves. Slaves would use the box material to make things for their family.) The officer was helpful but told me that it was likely that all the shops that sold Duct Tape would be closed for Boxing Day. Also that the Main Street back to the port dock would be closing at noon. If I should need to travel inland I would have to keep this in mind as travel after noon would be limited. If I missed getting back on the ship because of a roll of Duct Tape that would be more of a memory than I bargained for.

OK, just as he predicted the three shops within walking distance of the port and Main Street were closed.

On to Plan B. I thought that maybe I could stop in at a hotel. Explain the World Duct Tape Collection and what I was doing. Hoping that perhaps someone in their maintenance staff would have a roll of Duct Tape I could get. Results, no hotels, no luck.

On to Plan C.  Maybe I could get a lead on a roll of Duct Tape through one of the jewelry stores on the Main Street. My plan was to show them a Duct Tape Coin and ask about getting it engraved then bring the conversation around to my quest for a roll. These were all very high end shops. At Guccini Jewellers I approached the counter and showed them the coin. They informed me that they did not do engraving at the store but would call the people they did engraving business with. They were closed for the holiday. Bummer, it was 11 am and time was running out. This was not going to be easy.

As I walked I saw a sign for Hard Rock Cafe and thought what the heck. Inside I began to explain what I was looking for when another clerk said, "you are looking for the silver tape." Yes, I beamed! "You can get that at Super Value. Just take the #1 bus. Let the driver know you want to buy the silver tape he will let you right off at the place. For $1.25 you can ride anywhere.

So Plan D.  Take bus #1 to the Super Value and buy a roll of Duct Tape from the Bahamas for the collection. In the picture you can see the bus and some of the barricades going up to block off traffic and people for the Boxing Day parade. After asking several times as I walked where the bus stop was I found it. A bus stopped and I asked if it was the #1 bus? They said no. The large number 7 on the back corner should have been a clue. I persisted and was assured by some others at the stop that a #1 route bus would be along soon. Sure enough the next bus was #1. As I got aboard I followed the Hard Rock clerks instructions and told the driver I needed to go to buy a roll of silver tape. A local rider heard me and piped up, "You want silver tape? You need to go to the Super Value man. They got  it. My cousin works there. I am going there. This is the right bus." OK. The sun was shining and the rays of hope were upon me. I sat down with the man and introduced myself. He said his name was Elvis. I told him about the World Duct Tape Collection and showed him a list and how the Bahamas was not on the list. He said he was going to the store to buy a duck! I'm not kidding. You can't make this stuff up.

Elvis with the duck and Duct Tape "we" bought at the Super Value on Mackey Street in Nassau. The humor was not lost on either of us as to the connection between a duck for dinner and Duct Tape. Elvis invited me home for dinner to meet his family and learn about his country and customs. Tempting but I had to decline as I needed to get back to town and on the ship.

Step # 9  HAVE A LOCAL RESIDENT SIGN THE ROLL.
Elvis signing the roll from the Bahamas

Step # 10 HAVE A PICTURE TAKEN WITH THE PERSON THAT SIGNED THE ROLL.
Elvis and the memory of getting roll #79 from the Bahamas at the Super Value. It doesn't get any better than this. I will try to send Elvis this picture.

Step # 11 SHARE THE ROLL. SHARE THE STORY
My son and his friend with roll #79.  Hopefully they will someday get a roll for the collection and have a story of their own to share.

Step # 12 SEND THE ROLL TO ME DICK ANDERSON AT 11672 CENTER HILL ROAD IN DARLINGTON, WISCONSIN 53530
When I get the roll I will engrave a 1 0f 200 World Duct Tape Coin as shown above and send it to you. So there you have it.  To see an up to date list of countries in have to date click on the link
ducttape2thefuturelist.blogspot.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE WORLD DUCT TAPE COLLECTION