Baltimore (TFN): I cannot say with total certainty that duct tape has ever saved my life. But I can say it has saved the day on more than one occasion, like the time I fell feet first into a frigid river, roaring with the power of Alaska’s springtime snowmelt.

In the woods, you have to dry off fast or risk any number of calamities. Living in temperate rainforest, an emergency fire was a challenge. But thanks to duct tape’s inherent desire to burn, I was re-warmed in no time.