Maybe this is obvious to everyone, but it was definitely something I discovered, so here we are:
When you get a wristband at an event—for reentry, for age verification, for free drinks, etc. they can be tough to remove without scissors. The material (tyvek?) is quite strong and resistant to stretching and tearing.
The answer: flip the tape to the backside and pull the glued surface away.
(you can kinda approximate this by reaching under the band and yanking on the inner end without first doing the rotation step, but it’s a little more violent)