Wasilla, Alaska can now add another sign to their road sign; "Duck Tape Capital of the WORLD!" How did they accomplish this honor? By selling the most duct tape of any Wal-Mart store in the world in 2002 (by a significant margin). The Wasilla Wal-Mart sold the equivilent of 325 miles of duct tape. Based on Wasilla's 5,469 residents, that's 314 feet of duct tape per person! In 2002, Duck brand supplied 20 million rolls of duct tape to stores! End to end, that equals more than 750,000 miles of tape!
Here are some photos from the Wasilla and Anchorage Wal-Mart Duct Tape Capital celebration held July 19th, 2003.
The winner of the Duct Tape Fashion Show at the Wasilla event was Mike Brudzinski, who is holding part of his grand prize, a lifesize bald eagle made from (what else?) Duck® brand duct tape!

See more of the contestants in the fashion show in our fashions pages - page ten.

(left) John Kahl, the CEO of Henkel Consumer Adhesives makes the pronouncement of Wasilla, Alaska being the 2003 honorary Duct Tape Capital of the World. He then presented a duct tape key to the city of Wasilla's mayor, Dianne Keller.

(below) The Duct Tape Guys with duct tape fashion-clad Wal-Mart employees Jynnie and Darlene.

(left) The Duct Tape Guys with the Wasilla Wal-Mart store manager, Marleen. (below) Tim and a life-sized duct tape moose (Tim is the one on the left).
Anchorage Wal-Mart employee, Jim takes duct tape art to new heights with his float plane made from classic silver duct tape. He took several victory laps around the store in his duct tape scooter carrying an Alaskan flag (blue and yellow duct tape).

(below) Wasilla area students provide an original duct tape "stomp" presentation at the Duck Tape Capital event.

Later that same year...

Man binds bear wounds with Duct Tape.
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) 9/24/03 -- A hunter attacked by a grizzly bear on a remote trail said he used duct tape to bind his bite wounds, then rode an all-terrain vehicle to his pickup truck and drove himself to a hospital.

Bill Murphy said the Sept. 17 attack happened after he surprised a grizzly cub and its mother on a trail about 50 miles northeast of Anchorage where he was hunting for moose and sheep. "I didn't even have time to jump," Murphy said. Murphy grabbed his rifle but before he could raise it, the mother bear pinned him face-down.

It then clamped her jaws around his right shoulder and started shaking him like a rag. He said he felt teeth pressing against his skin, then a pop as they sliced through. At some point, the bear let go, then stood over Murphy, panting and drooling onto his head. All he could think about was a bear attack over the summer near the Russian River where a man was bitten on the face and blinded.

"I just lay perfectly still and said, 'God, don't bite my head,"' Murphy said. Finally, the bear moved away. Murphy said he got up, planning to shoot the bear, but it had broken his rifle.

Murphy said he wrapped duct tape around his shoulder and cut up a cloth bag to wrap around his thigh. He hiked out to his four-wheeler, rode about 15 miles back to his pickup truck and drove a half hour to Valley Hospital in Palmer.

The 54-year-old said he has no idea how long the attack lasted, but it felt like "two lifetimes." "I can laugh about it now, but I wasn't laughing then," he said.