# Crossed bandages

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossed-bandages/569456>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 29, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossed-bandages/569456 "2011-01-29T23:42:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossed-bandages/569456/1 "2011-01-29T23:42:26Z")

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A staple of old cartoons is that when a character is injured he has white adhesive bandages arranged in a cross.

How long have there been adhesive strips, and why were/are they depicted as crossed instead of single strips?

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossed-bandages/569456/2 "2011-01-30T00:03:01Z")

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I don’t think the crossed bangages are the same as the adhesive bandage strips we are familiar with. Before the invention of adhesive bandage strips, i would guess two crossed strips of adhesive tape secured a gauze pad better than one strip of tape.

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**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossed-bandages/569456/3 "2011-01-30T02:04:48Z")

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Taping a gauze pad down with a # of tape seals all the edges to keep dirt out. The legs are to give more surface to help keep it from getting pulled off.

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**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossed-bandages/569456/4 "2011-01-30T05:12:46Z")

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How about on cartoon tires?

It may have been poetic license. That would explain why anvils turned out to be so unimportant in life.

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**Author:** ![wbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/439d5e/32.png) [@wbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wbeaty)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossed-bandages/569456/5 "2011-01-30T07:34:21Z")

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Do Not Put Banana In Refrigeratoooorrrrrr!

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**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossed-bandages/569456/6 "2011-01-31T21:09:04Z")

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> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> I don’t think the crossed bangages are the same as the adhesive bandage strips we are familiar with. Before the invention of adhesive bandage strips, i would guess two crossed strips of adhesive tape secured a gauze pad better than one strip of tape.

Even with today’s bandages, I will sometimes run a second bandage across the top of the first one, rotated 90°. If the wound is in a location that flexes a lot, or spans a long distance, it keeps the sides of the original bandage from wrinkling, leaving gaps for dirt to get into the wound.