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My neighbor tried to fix a torn page with packing tape
I was helping her sort some old books and she pulled out a paperback with a ripped cover. She said, "This will hold it," and grabbed a roll of clear packing tape. I had to stop her before she made it a sticky, yellow mess in five years. I showed her how to use a thin line of PVA and a piece of Japanese paper instead, which took about ten minutes. She had no idea tape damages paper over time. What's the weirdest 'fix' you've seen someone try on a book?
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michaeltorres16d agoMost Upvoted
Oh man, that tape thing is so real. I once found a comic book my brother "fixed" with duct tape when we were kids. The whole cover was just this stiff, orangey board, and the tape peeled off a layer of the paper when I tried to move it. It's wild how something so clear and sticky turns into a total mess.
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Ever think clear tape is fine? I used to tape ripped book pages all the time. Then I found an old school notebook I'd 'fixed' as a kid. The tape was this gross brown color and the paper under it was stained and brittle. It basically melted the page. Now I just use a glue stick for quick things, it's way less of a mess later.
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lindag331mo ago
Notice how many quick fixes turn into long term problems. We use tape because it's fast, but it ruins the paper years later. Makes you wonder what else we're doing for convenience that will backfire.
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