Hook-and-loop fastener
The original hook-and-loop fastener was conceived in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral,[1][2][3] which he named velcro.
He examined them under a microscope, and noted their hundreds of hooks that caught on anything with a loop, such as clothing, animal fur, or hair.
[7] De Mestral's proposal was initially rejected by industry leaders when he took his idea to Lyon, which was then a center of weaving.
He did manage to gain the assistance of one weaver, who produced two cotton strips based on de Mestral's designs.
But because the cotton frayed and wore out relatively quickly, de Mestral began to investigate the use of synthetic fibers, believing that they would provide a more resilient product.
[4] De Mestral eventually selected nylon, on the reasoning that it does not easily fray or attract mold, is non-biodegradable, and could be produced in threads of varying thickness.
[1] Within a few years he obtained patents and began to open shops in Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada.
Columnist Sylvia Porter made the first mention of the product in her column Your Money's Worth of August 25, 1958, writing, "It is with understandable enthusiasm that I give you today an exclusive report on this news: A 'zipperless zipper' has been invented – finally.
[citation needed] At the time, the fasteners looked as though they had been made from leftover bits of cheap fabric, and thus were not sewn into clothing or used widely when it debuted in the early 1960s.
[10] Velcro Corporation products were displayed at a fashion show at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York in 1959,[11] and the fabric got its first break when it was used in the aerospace industry to help astronauts maneuver in and out of bulky space suits.
The next major use hook-and-loop saw was with skiers, who saw the similarities between their outerwear and that of the astronauts, and thus saw the advantages of a suit that was easier to don and doff.
By the mid-1960s, hook-and-loop fasteners were used in the futuristic creations of fashion designers such as Pierre Cardin, André Courrèges and Paco Rabanne.
[8] In 1978, de Mestral's patent expired, prompting a flood of low-cost imitations from Taiwan, China and South Korea onto the market.
Fasteners made of Teflon loops, polyester hooks, and glass backing are used in aerospace applications, e.g. on Space Shuttles.
Three ways to maximize the strength of a bond between the two flexible pieces are: Shoe closures can resist a large force with only a small amount of hook-and-loop fasteners.
It is especially popular in clothing where it replaces buttons or zippers, and as a shoe fastener for children who have not yet learned to tie shoelaces.
Hook-and-loop fasteners are used in adaptive clothing, which is designed for people with physical disabilities, the elderly, and the infirm, who may experience difficulty dressing themselves due to an inability to manipulate closures such as buttons and zippers.
It is an integral part of games such as tag rugby and flag football, and is used in surfboard leashes and orthopaedic braces.
Each Space Shuttle flew equipped with ten thousand inches of a special fastener made of Teflon loops, polyester hooks, and glass backing.
Letterman proved that with enough of the material a man could be hurled against a wall and stick, by performing this feat during the television broadcast.
[18] Jeremy Bayliss and Graeme Smith of the Cri Bar and Grill in Napier, New Zealand, started it after seeing American astronauts sticking to walls during space flights.
