Velcro is the trademark name for hook-and-loop fasteners, a nylon pile fabric that fastens to itself. They are typically tiny loops on strip of wooly fabric snag onto tiny hooks of an opposing strip of same material.
Velcro is often used in place of zippers, buttons, shoelaces and other fasteners, especially on children's clothing, athletic footwear, ski jackets, belts and in medical support devices.
In 1941 Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral (June 19, 1907 – February 8, 1990) went on a hunting trip with his dog in the Alps. On returning home, he got annoyed at the struggle to remove the burdock burrs which had got attached to his socks, jacket and his dog's fur. His inventor's curiosity led him to study these hard-to-remove burrs under a microscope, in order to discover the secret of their stickiness. De Mestral discovered their natural hook-like shape and saw the possibility of binding two materials reversibly in a simple fashion if he could figure out how to duplicate the hooks and loops.
It took de Mestral a decade to replicate the fastening phenomenon synthetically in order to create a mechanized process that worked. Eventually he came up with a new two-sided fastener: using nylon; One side with stiff "hooks" like the burrs and the other side with the soft "loops" like the fabric of his pants.
De Mestral submitted his idea for a patent for his hook-and-loop fasteners in Switzerland in 1951, which was granted in 1955 and then obtained patents in many other countries. In 1957 he branched out to the textile centre of Manchester, New Hampshire.
De Mestral trademarked his invention Velcro from the first syllables of the French words 'velours' (the French for loops, in clothing) and 'crochets' (hooks, on the burs).
A Montreal company, Velek, Ltd., acquired the exclusive right to market the product in North and South America, with American Velcro, Inc. of New Hampshire, and Velcro Sales of New York, marketing the "zipperless zipper" in the United States.
Velcro is often used in place of zippers, buttons, shoelaces and other fasteners, especially on children's clothing, athletic footwear, ski jackets, belts and in medical support devices.
In 1941 Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral (June 19, 1907 – February 8, 1990) went on a hunting trip with his dog in the Alps. On returning home, he got annoyed at the struggle to remove the burdock burrs which had got attached to his socks, jacket and his dog's fur. His inventor's curiosity led him to study these hard-to-remove burrs under a microscope, in order to discover the secret of their stickiness. De Mestral discovered their natural hook-like shape and saw the possibility of binding two materials reversibly in a simple fashion if he could figure out how to duplicate the hooks and loops.
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| Burdock |
It took de Mestral a decade to replicate the fastening phenomenon synthetically in order to create a mechanized process that worked. Eventually he came up with a new two-sided fastener: using nylon; One side with stiff "hooks" like the burrs and the other side with the soft "loops" like the fabric of his pants.
De Mestral submitted his idea for a patent for his hook-and-loop fasteners in Switzerland in 1951, which was granted in 1955 and then obtained patents in many other countries. In 1957 he branched out to the textile centre of Manchester, New Hampshire.
De Mestral trademarked his invention Velcro from the first syllables of the French words 'velours' (the French for loops, in clothing) and 'crochets' (hooks, on the burs).
A Montreal company, Velek, Ltd., acquired the exclusive right to market the product in North and South America, with American Velcro, Inc. of New Hampshire, and Velcro Sales of New York, marketing the "zipperless zipper" in the United States.
The Velcro fastener system was not an instant hit when it came to market in the early ‘60s. Then NASA started to look for a way to keep objects attached to walls while floating in orbit, and discovered Velcro was ideal. From then on the fashion industry went wild due to it now being space aged.
Astronauts attach pieces of Velcro into their helmets to scratch their noses during space walks.
Compton's Encyclopedia
Compton's Encyclopedia
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