[78-L] Vitrolac: the spelling that would not die!

Steven C. Barr stevenc at interlinks.net
Mon Feb 14 21:29:52 PST 2011


From: "DanKj" <MLK402 at verizon.net>
> I think most modern uses of Vitrolac can be traced to "The Fabulous 
> Phonograph",  BUT Roland Gelatt shouldn't be blamed,
> because "Vitrolac" shows up even in RCA literature. It's now almost always 
> without the c , the way other products are now
> always wrong ("duck tape" became "duct tape", even though it's useless on 
> ducts! )
>
Other way around! It was originally known as "DUCT tape" and was used to 
patch up
leaky joins in heating (et al) ducts. Since many cheaper and weaker versions 
were
sold, it gradually became "duck tape" (the unanswered question being "WHO
needs to tape a duck...and to what/whom...?!).

Steven C. Barr 



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