Read this thread----
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=162871
Huh? Who’s panicking? I haven’t heard a single person mention that they’re buying their duct tape. Can you provide the links to the threads where everyone is acting cowardly?
I agree DA but you know pantex ain’t too far away in amarillo. That’s the plant for finally assembly for US nukes. I think during the cold war is was number two on the hit parade for the soviets. I don’t know what any terrorists might have in mind but if Pantex is hit a good stiff westerly could put some nasty shit over FT/Dallas pretty quick. So to duct or not to duct still remains the question.
I think not to duct is the answer at least for me. That doesn’t mean to imply that I don’t have and use duct tape. As a matter of fact there is some holding my clothes dryer vent hose on as we speak.
I think I would only panic if they decided to quit making duct tape.
Back in cold war days, the Soviet nuke list was:
- New York, Washington DC
- Some place 40 miles from wherever you were at the moment.
- Wherever you were at the moment.
That’s still over 300 miles away. I’m just wondering why Bosda felt the need to flame everyone for even commenting on the situation.
Suddenly, chatting about what we’re *not[/i bothering to do becomes panicking and acting cowardly.
I have to really question the reliability with Duct Tape and plastic sheeting. Most homes and office buildings leak like a sieve. You would have to seal off everything from your air vents (no A/C while we are under attack), your electrical outlets, your floorboards. If you have hardwood flooring or a drop down ceiling you are SOOL. Seal it as much as you can. Put the duct tape down EACH crack and seam. Or silicone sealant. You couldn’t flush your toilet, while under attack. The plumbing might be safe, but make sure there is water in the p-trap of every faucet in the house. If you have a sink that hasn’t worked in months, secure the whole thing. Don’t just put a stopper in. The overflow will leak too. Plus you have to make sure there are no creases in the tape. I would recommend caulking instead, but it might be difficult to remove. You’ve got to go over your house with a fine toothed comb to make sure you get everything. If you have any plants outside that you can bring inside do it. The oxygen they produce might not be enough for a long wait, but it couldn’t hurt. Plus you won’t want your plants to have those contaminants on them anyway.
What if the terrorists have already planted antrhax in the duct tape packages?
I’m not duct taping, but I’m confused on the covering heating/AC vent thing. Except for window units, every home/apartment I’ve lived in has heated/cooled internal air. Am I missing something?
superbee and MSU 1978- you SLAY me!
No window treatments for me. If I’m not killed outright, I want to be one of the mutants. 
And I can’t believe no one has said it yet.
“Duck and cover”? I thought it was “duct and cover”.
<slinks off>
I’m just a nine iron from our local PO. They used to have an old fallout room with 3’ thick cement walls underneath the PO with food & water. They took the sign down years ago indicating that it’s there, but I remember its there, so that’s where I would be. Lucky me. I think that Im going over there & ask them if it’s available.
We have 2 cats, but only one cat carrier. I mentioned getting another carrier to my husband as a “just in case” and he responded with “The hell with the cats; just get the kids in the car and go!”
And no, I’m not duct taping, either.
But I am buying another cat carrier tomorrow.
NO.
Homeland Security Department?! Buy duct tape and plastic. I feel so much more secure with this kind of sound advice.
“Duct tape and plastic sheeting” is to the terrorism panic-mongering of today what “hold a newspaper over your head” and “civil nuclear defense” was to the nuclear war panic-mongering of the postwar and Cold War period. Ridiculousness designed to increase, not decrease, the level of fear among the general populace. IMHO.
I have about a decade of working with radioactive materials, microbial pathogens, and chemical hazards. This crap is nothing but more “duck and cover”. It will protect nobody. However, it does serve one valuable function. See who is stocking up on plastic and duct tape. These people are too stupid to rely upon in a crisis.
I’d be afraid of dying of carbon monoxide poisoning or something. Our house runs on natural gas–the furnace, the water heater, the dryer, the stove. We’ve actually got a fresh air intake pipe in our utility room so that the combustion of all these appliances doesn’t kill us. So, am I supposed to seal that off? (If I don’t, that air is going to be blown all over the house by the furnace!) We’ve got a fireplace, too. I know that damper isn’t a perfect seal by any means. I think that trying to seal off the house is a lesson in futility, if not stupidity.
On NPR today, I heard someone say that if you sealed off your house perfectly, you’d have about five hours’ worth of oxygen left!
I have a history of excema, so I’m not supposed to get a smallpox vaccine either. Guess I’ll just twiddle my thumbs, then…
Knarf,
The air that cools or heats your house/apartment has to come from somewhere. The air comes from outside. It is filtered, but the filters not enough to clean out deadly contaminants.
Boy Tamex, you raise some good points. The air inside your home changes several times an hour. If you really are wanting to protect yourself from a short term attack of say an hour or a few, then do what you can to block off the fireplace completely. And turn off your gas, if you can. Then hopefully you can seal off the vents and the attic door. If you have a hot water heater, hopefully it’s in a room you can isolate. You still don’t have much time. I think 5 hours is pretty pessimistic though, especially if you take it easy during that time. Sleep. Don’t do something stupid like excercize. Make sure you set your alarm every hour or so to make sure you don’t pass out from lack of oxygen. Listen to the radio to make sure the coast is clear.
– Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., alleging the administration refused to work with Congress to appropriate more money for homeland security (02/13/2003).
No, but I don’t see anything wrong with buying Duct tape. To paraphrase John Lennon,
“All you need is Duct Tape”.
are the prices of duct tape going up? DAMN! I should have stock piled before… I like to make things and I was considering making my prom dress… hmmm…
Good lord!
If you seal up your house, or a room inside your house, whatever you do, do not sleep, unless you’ve accurately calculated how much time the available oxygen will last, and set a reliable alarm to go off before that time. Otherwise you might not wake up.
I’m just waiting to turn on the news and here about some old couple who panicked after seeing some fog or something, started duct taping, and then suffocated. I hope the legal division of the Department of Fatherland Defense is already planning their defense strategy for the ensuing lawsuits.