It's a duct tape world and Wasilla is the capital

State legislators have battled for years and years to move the state capital to Wasilla, but to no avail. Now, Wasilla is an international capital, and people in Juneau can quit worrying.

Wasilla has been named the "Honorary Duct Tape Capital of the World" by the Duck Products company, which makes Duck brand duct tape.

The city earned the title after the Wal-Mart here outsold Wal-Marts from around the country in duct tape sales.

"Alaskans are stuck on duct tape," said John Kahl, chief executive officer of Henkel Consumer Adhesives, makers of Duck brand tape. "They've uncovered a variety of innovative uses to help meet the unique demands of their surroundings."

To celebrate, Wal-Mart is rolling out the red carpet -- or silver tape, as is more appropriate -- Saturday in Wasilla. At 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Jim Nyberg and Jim Berg, known as "The Duct Tape Guys" will give their comedic routine. Festivities also include a duct tape fashion show at 1 p.m.

People are encouraged to attend the show wearing duct tape, organizers said.

The person with the winning costume will take home a duct tape sculpture of a bald eagle. Organizers said there will also be a life-size moose made of duct tape and a mural of the state of Alaska on hand for the event.

So why do Alaskans buy so much duct tape? The answer is simple -- duct tape does everything.

"If it can't be fixed with a hammer, it can be fixed with duct tape," said Luke Gregg, a carpenter from Wasilla who was purchasing duct tape at Wal-Mart Tuesday morning. "But seriously, its one of those things that you use all the time, in a lot of different applications."

Gary Arnold bought a roll Tuesday morning because his family is headed out camping this weekend, and "you never go camping without a roll of duct tape," he said.

"If you tear something, if you get a hole in your rain jacket, if you this, if you that, you can use duct tape to fix it," Arnold said.

Neither Arnold nor Gregg knew that Wasilla was being named the "Honorary Duct Tape Capital of the World," and they didn't know that Wasilla was home to the most duct-tape users. But they said they believe it.

"Alaskans are pretty resourceful," Arnold said. "I never would have guessed we buy the most duct tape, but I can see why."

Gregg said he knew Alaskans used duct tape for a lot of different applications -- including to shield your face from the cold when snowmachining -- but he didn't think Alaskans would lead the sales department for duct tape.

"I would think everyone would use duct tape, not just Alaskans," Gregg said. "Maybe it's just that we use a little too much of it."

Wasilla Wal-Mart paint department manager Henry Szipszky said in a press release that "there are two staples in Alaska: Spam and duct tape. Without duct tape, your tool box might as well be empty."

Nyberg and Berg certainly know a thing or two about duct tape. They wrote "Duct Shui" earlier this year, making it their fifth duct tape book they have published. They have appeared on countless radio and television shows, touting duct tape and its many uses. "Duct Shui" is a duct-taped look at the philosophy of Feng Shui.

In the book, the Duct Tape Guys look at Feng Shui applications and give the Duct Shui alternative. For instance, Feng Shui suggests "a fountain near the door of your office space will be a mood lifter and bring more salary your way. It will also diffuse the flow of bad chi (negative energy) into your office space."

The Duct Tape Guys counter that with a silvery alternative. "To stop the flow of bad energy into your office (i.e. to keep the boss out of your cubicle), cover the entrance to your cubicle entirely in duct tape," they write.

"Skip the fountain idea; that trickling sound will just make you have to go to the bathroom more, which may prove problematic with your door taped shut," they suggested in the book.