The duct tape alert refers to the recommendations made by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on February 10, 2003, that Americans should prepare for a biological, chemical, or radiological terrorist attack by assembling a "disaster supply kit", including duct tape

Duct tape

Duct tape, or duck tape, is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure sensitive tape often sealed with polyethylene. It is very similar to gaffer tape but differs in that gaffer tape was designed to be cleanly removed, while duct tape was not. It has a standard width of and is generally silver or black...

 and plastic (presumably to attempt to seal one's home against nuclear, chemical, and biological contaminants), among other items.

The recommendations came on the heels of an increase in the Department's official threat level

Homeland Security Advisory System

In the United States, the Homeland Security Advisory System was a color-coded terrorism threat advisory scale. The different levels trigger specific actions by federal agencies and state and local governments, and they affect the level of security at some airports and other public facilities. It...

 to "orange", or "high risk", citing "recent intelligence reports".

According to press reports, the recommendations caused a surge in demand for duct tape.

The media sensation surrounding duct tape was fodder for comedians and satirists. Some referred to it as "duct and cover", a reference to duck and cover

Duck and cover

Duck and Cover was a suggested method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear weapon which the United States government taught to generations of United States school children from the early 1950s into the 1980s. This was supposed to protect them in the event of an unexpected nuclear...

.

External links

• "The Smart Way to Be Scared" by Gregg Easterbrook, The New York Times
  The New York Times
  The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
  
  , February 16, 2003. http://gk.nytimes.com/mem/gatekeeper.html?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/weekinreview/16EASTE.html&OQ=pagewantedQ3DallQ26positionQ3Dtop&OP=45d4c68eQ2FsTUwsQ2Bc.Q3Cicc7Q2AsQ2A99Q24s9Q2AsM0sTUUQ20nQ5DiUVnUTsM0Q3EWF4Q3EG,7h@ (Registration Required)
• "Duct Tape and Cover" A spoof on the original Duck and Cover
  Duck and Cover (film)
  Duck and Cover is a civil defense film produced in 1951 by the United States federal government's civil defense branch shortly after the Soviet Union began nuclear testing. Written by Raymond J...
  
  video http://www.solidarity.com/hkcartoons/duckandcover.html