We built these crazy experiments using nothing but tape

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]When it comes to duct tape, everyone knows what it is. You probably think it's just something for quick fixes and repairs, but for them, it's practically a miracle material that can be used to build almost anything.

[00:00:11]They've built airplanes with it, constructed bridges, and even made a duct tape cannon. And every single time the results were astonishing. This time, they set out to build a parachute entirely out of duct tape. At first, it sounds simple. Isn't that basically just a giant plastic bag with a round frame?

[00:00:26]Not exactly. Uh if you're building a real parachute, it has to is designed to do, safely bring a person or object down from high altitude to the ground. That means dealing with physics like air resistance, drag, and stability. The engineering challenge was far more complex than any duct tape project they'd tackled before. First, they studied the design and dimensions of military-grade parachutes. Then they used CAD software to map out the shape of the duct tape parachute. Because duct tape is much heavier than traditional parachute fabric, they also had to precisely calculate the release altitude and the speed required for a safe landing. Once they had all of the baseline data, construction began. It required a massive assembly line. First, large sheets of duct tape were laid out flat. Then each section was carefully cut into specific shapes. After that, the pieces were handed off to the assembly team for stitching, or rather taping, everything together. The suspension lines were made by twisting strips of duct tape into rope-like cords. Finally, all the components were assembled into a fully functional parachute. Once it was complete, they headed to the naval base in San Francisco, the same place where they had previously tested the duct tape bridge.

[00:01:28]The finished duct tape parachute weighed 230 lb. In theory, it could safely carry a 180-lb person to the ground, but since no one was willing to be the test subject, they used a 180-lb crash test dummy instead. The release altitude was set at 650 ft. To create a proper comparison, they first conducted a control test using a military-grade parachute. The dummy was fitted with sensors that measured landing speed and impact force. Once everything was ready, the parachute was lifted to the designated height by helicopter and released. The result was exactly what you'd expect. The military parachute deployed perfectly and brought the dummy safely to the ground. The sensor data showed the dummy landed at less than 10 mph with an acceleration force of 6.77 Gs. What does that mean? If a person hits the ground at more than 16 mph, there's a high chance of breaking their legs. At speeds above 25 mph, the impact could be fatal. Only landings below 15 mph are generally considered safe. So, for the duct tape parachute to pass, it needed to land at under 15 mph. Then it was time for the real test. The duct tape parachute was dropped from the same height. So, how did it perform? Less than 3 seconds after release, the parachute deployed successfully.

[00:02:34]It began descending slowly toward the target zone. At first, everything looked perfect. But then, without warning, a sudden crosswind flipped the parachute sideways. The canopy instantly collapsed into a tangled mess and slammed into the ground at extremely high speed. The recorded landing speed was 27.8 mph with a brutal 28 Gs of acceleration. That's roughly equivalent to falling from a fifth-story building. So, no. That definitely did not count as a safe landing. But the high-speed camera captured something remarkable. Right after the parachute fully deployed, it was descending at just 13 mph. It only maintained that speed briefly, but it was well within the safe landing range.

[00:03:10]If not for that gust of wind, it probably would have landed safely.

[00:03:13]However, the crosswind wasn't the real problem. The main issue was that the duct tape parachute was simply too heavy. To compensate, they enlarged the vent hole at the top of the canopy. This reduced irregular airflow escaping from the edges and helped stabilize the high-pressure zone inside the parachute.

[00:03:28]After making the modifications, they ran the test again. Unfortunately, the result was nearly identical. And this time, there wasn't even any crosswind.

[00:03:36]Turbulent vortices formed along the canopy's edges, causing the parachute to flip over and collapse. The landing failed once again. Theoretically, the duct tape parachute worked. With more advanced engineering adjustments, it might eventually perform like a professional-grade parachute. But for now, the experiment was officially a failure. Still, their duct tape experiments were far from over. Next, they planned to see if duct tape could repair an entire car. You probably already know that duct tape can fix minor car problems. But did you know it can also repair some of the most extreme damage imaginable and still get the car back on the road? It sounds completely insane, but that's exactly what they tried. Kari's job was to destroy the car as violently as possible. Honestly, that's something most people have probably wanted to do at least once.

[00:04:18]After the first round of destruction, the car's exterior was badly damaged, but Kari didn't think it was enough. So, she called in some firefighter friends to help. They brought hydraulic rescue tools, the kind that can rip apart a car in minutes. With the firefighters' help, the car was quickly reduced to what looked like a near total wreck. And all of that destruction was handed over to Tory and Grant to fix. There was just one catch. They could only use duct tape. Do you think that's even possible?

[00:04:40]First, they cleared away as much debris as they could. Then, they tried to reshape the roof and the C pillars as closely as possible to their original form. After that, they began patching everything together with duct tape. To be fair, this kind of repair can work for small damage. It's basically a temporary fix, and it definitely doesn't help the car's appearance. For major damage, the normal solution would be replacing the entire part. Sure, duct tape is impressively waterproof and adhesive, but using it to rebuild a car, that's something you almost never see.

[00:05:07]And there was always the risk it could affect the car's performance. The most heavily damaged areas required multiple layers of tape. The windshield, for example, had to be taped back together in two separate pieces. Piece by piece, the wrecked car was reassembled with duct tape. And surprisingly, even though it was covered in tape, it didn't look nearly as terrible as you'd expect. The real question was, what would happen once they actually drove it? To find out, they took it to a closed test track. They set up a course filled with sharp turns and speed bumps. The goal was simple. Put as much stress on the repaired car as possible, but Kari wasted no time. The moment she got behind the wheel, she slammed on the gas. She drove like the car was completely disposable. She threw it through high-speed turns, putting enormous strain on the structure. Then she blasted over speed bumps at full speed. Basically, she tortured the car as hard as she could. After 10 full laps, the duct taped hood and roof were still holding perfectly. So, they decided to push it even further. Next, they took it onto a muddy road full of deep potholes. Wherever the bumps were biggest, that's exactly where they drove. And even after all that abuse, every duct taped repair stayed firmly in place. You have to admit, duct tape's durability is seriously impressive. But if you think that was the end of the test, you'd be very mistaken. You've probably seen those videos where cars crash into layers of duct tape with more and more layers being added until the car can't break through anymore. This time, they decided to take that idea to the next level. Their goal was to build a full-on duct tape barrier wall and find out exactly how much tape it would take to stop a moving car. They started small with just five layers of duct tape. The car was launched at the wall at 60 mph and unsurprisingly, five layers weren't even close to enough.

[00:06:41]The car tore straight through it without any trouble. So, for the next test, they went much bigger. They built an extremely thick duct tape wall by repeatedly wrapping tape between two steel pipes until they felt it was thick enough. Then they added vertical layers on top of the horizontal ones creating a crisscross pattern to reinforce the structure. When it was finally finished, they had a solid duct tape wall 3 in thick made from 100 rolls of tape. Faced with something that massive and dense, none of them were brave enough to drive directly into it. So, instead, they used a towing system. One vehicle would pull the test car and launch it into the wall. To keep the car from veering off course, they installed a steering correction system. The system was connected to a steel cable which ran through a pulley setup mounted beneath the duct tape wall. As the tow vehicle pulled the cable, it would guide the car forward in a precise straight line. At least, that was the theory. In reality, the car veered off course and slammed into a nearby concrete wall instead.

[00:07:32]Just like that, they lost an entire car.

[00:07:34]Afterward, they recalibrated the steering correction system and adjusted the pulley setup. This time, the car hit the duct tape wall dead on. But instead of smashing through it, it ripped one of the support pipes loose from the side.

[00:07:45]High-speed footage revealed what happened. The pipe was torn free from its concrete mount, absorbing most of the impact force. Luckily, the duct tape wall itself remained intact and could still be reused. To make sure the next test would finally deliver a clear result, they optimized every part of the setup. If nothing went wrong, the third attempt would reveal the final answer.

[00:08:02]Once everything was ready, the tow vehicle slowly accelerated. As the speed climbed to 60 mph, the test car stayed perfectly aligned with the target. Then, impact. The duct tape wall exploded apart. High-speed footage showed something incredible. The wall didn't fail instantly when the car hit it.

[00:08:17]Instead, it stretched outward to its absolute limit before finally snapping apart. In total, it absorbed nearly 300,000 lb of force. That means if it were thick enough, a duct tape wall really could stop a car. Its strength was almost impossible to believe. And of course, they weren't done abusing duct tape yet. But, next time they planned to test it in a completely different way.

[00:08:38]If you were tied up with duct tape, would you know how to escape? But, that's not the real question here. The real myth was this, could duct tape actually lift an entire car? Before attempting something that insane, they first needed to find out how much weight a single strip of duct tape could hold.

[00:08:53]So, they tested it by lifting dumbbells.

[00:08:55]The results showed that one strip of duct tape could support roughly 70 lb.

[00:08:59]From there, the math was simple. A car weighs about 5,200 lb. That meant in theory, it would take around 80 strips of duct tape to lift it. But, to play it safe, they decided to use 100 strips instead. The setup was surprisingly straightforward. First, they suspended a steel pipe from a crane. Then, they connected the car to the pipe using rows of duct tape. Finally, the crane would lift the pipe. If the tape held, the car would rise with it. Because duct tape stretches under tension, every single strip had to be attached with a perfect alignment. If even a few strips were uneven, the load wouldn't be distributed properly and the entire system could fail. Once they finished attaching everything, the site was unlike anything they'd ever seen. The car was hanging beneath what looked like a fragile curtain of tape. It looked weak, unstable, and seconds away from disaster. Could it actually work? As the crane slowly began to lift, the duct tape tightened. The tension increased.

[00:09:47]Then came the critical moment. All four wheels left the ground. Just like that, they accomplished something no one had ever done before. They proved that if you use enough duct tape, it can do the impossible. For about 1 full minute, the tape held strong. Then the first few strips began to snap. And once that happened, the failure spread instantly.

[00:10:03]Like unzipping a zipper, the entire system collapsed all at once. The car came crashing back down, but the myth had already been busted wide open. Duct tape really was strong enough to lift a car. And if you think that wasn't crazy enough, wait until you see how they use duct tape to build an actual boat. If you were stranded on a deserted island and all you had was duct tape, what would you do? If nothing comes to mind, take a look at what they came up with.

[00:10:25]Their plan was to build an actual duct tape boat. The boat would be about 20 ft long, large enough for two people, plus all the supplies needed to survive. It also needed a stable support structure strong enough to handle ocean waves. The frame would be built from bamboo, then wrapped entirely in duct tape. Since duct tape is highly water resistant, they figured adding enough layers might allow it to survive the trip back to land. Luckily, they already had experience building boats. So, constructing the bamboo framework wasn't too difficult. They started by creating the boat's main spine using two large bamboo poles. Once the overall shape was secured with duct tape, they focused on reinforcing the base. Smaller bamboo supports were added across the interior to maximize structural strength. And every single joint was secured entirely with duct tape. Once the hull was complete, they built the support frame using the exact same method. Then came the final step, wrapping the entire structure in its duct tape skin. To balance waterproofing with weight, they used only two layers of tape on the hull. After 6 straight hours of work, the duct tape raft was finally finished.

[00:11:24]Next, they loaded all the necessary supplies on board. There was enough food and gear to survive at sea for two full weeks. With high hopes, they pushed off into open water. And to everyone's surprise, the boat performed incredibly well. It handled wave after wave without falling apart. Soon, they reached calmer waters. After paddling for 2 hours, the island they had launched from had completely disappeared from sight. At that point, they stopped to inspect the boat and grab something to eat. The duct tape was still holding up perfectly. No tears, no leaks, no signs of failure. As long as the water intake stayed manageable, the boat looked capable of carrying them all the way back to land.

[00:11:58]Then, after 7 hours at sea, they finally spotted the mainland. That meant the duct tape boat had successfully completed its mission. Duct tape itself probably never imagined it could become a seaworthy vessel. At this point, there was no denying its toughness and durability. But even after building a working boat, they still weren't satisfied. So, they came up with something even crazier. Turning duct tape into a car seat belt. This is a seat belt strength test. Every new car model has to go through crash safety testing. But have you ever seen a seat belt made entirely out of duct tape?

[00:12:27]This time, they set out to find out whether a duct tape seat belt could actually keep someone safe. It was also a more advanced test of duct tape's tensile strength. First, they welded a 3,000-lb steel plate to the front of two shipping containers. This would serve as the crash barrier. Then, they placed two crash test dummies in the front seats of the car. For one dummy, they replaced the car's original seat belt with one made entirely of duct tape. The duct tape belt consisted of nine layers. Both dummies were fitted with accelerometers.

[00:12:52]These sensors would measure the amount of force each dummy experienced during impact. The data would reveal whether the dummy would likely survive the crash. For comparison, the dummy in the passenger seat was strapped in with a normal factory seat belt. Next came the crash setup. A tow vehicle would pull the test car forward with steel cables and send it directly into the barrier.

[00:13:10]Impact speed, 25 mph. The result was immediate. The nine-layer duct tape seat belt snapped instantly on impact. The dummy wearing the standard seat belt recorded 30 Gs to the head and 50 Gs to the body. That level of force would likely cause injuries, but it probably wouldn't be fatal. The dummy restrained by the duct tape seat belt experienced more than 130 Gs to both the head and torso. In simple terms, it was dead. So, as a traditional seatbelt replacement, duct tape was a total failure. But, the experiment wasn't over yet. They decided to try a completely different design.

[00:13:41]Instead of mimicking a normal seatbelt, they used duct tape to strap the dummy directly to the seat itself. The tape wrapped from the waist up to the chest.

[00:13:48]This time, they used at least 28 layers.

[00:13:50]Another 15 layers secured the dummy to the car's frame. In total, they used two full rolls of duct tape. And surprisingly, the results were much better. The duct tape protected the dummy remarkably well. Only the tape around the abdomen tore. Everything else held firm. The sensor data showed the crash forces were still within survivable limits. But, they weren't satisfied. For the final test, they increased the impact speed of 45 mph.

[00:14:13]That's the industry standard for serious crash testing. This time, they used more than 40 layers of duct tape. So, what happened? After the crash, the duct tape hadn't broken, but the dummy was dead.

[00:14:24]Why? Because real seatbelts are designed to stretch slightly during a collision.

[00:14:29]That tiny amount of give allows the body to move just enough to reduce the force of impact. It's one of the most important features of a proper restraint system. Duct tape, however, held the dummy rigidly against the seat. There was no flexibility, no energy absorption. So, when the collision happened, the massive force was transferred directly into the dummy's torso. The result was a fatal level of impact. So, when it comes to seatbelts, there's still no material or design better suited for the job than the real thing. But, the job