Velcro is a brand of hook-and-loop fastener that allows two fabric surfaces, one covered in tiny hooks and the other in soft loops, to be pressed together and pulled apart repeatedly. The Swiss engineer George de Mestral conceived the idea in 1941 after noticing how burdock burs clung to his clothing and his dog's fur following a walk in the Alps, and after examining the burs' hooked structure under magnification he spent roughly a decade developing a practical manufacturing process, patenting the fastener in Switzerland in 1955; the brand name has since become a generic term for hook-and-loop fasteners worldwide.
Facts
Patent or First-Use DateSourced to the subject's own accountOnly the year of the Swiss patent grant is given in the source; the exact day is not stated. YearSourced to the subject's own account SignificanceSourced to the subject's own accountHook-and-loop fastening is regarded as an early and influential example of biomimicry, the practice of drawing design inspiration from nature, since de Mestral based his design on the hooked burrs that stuck to his clothing and his dog's fur on a hunting trip. 1 Velcro
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FAQs
Why did Velcro take so long to catch on after it was patented?
Its early look, like cheap leftover fabric, and a reputation for being impractical kept it out of clothing in the early 1960s.
George de Mestral conceived the hook-and-loop fastener in 1941 and submitted his idea for a patent in Switzerland in 1951, and the patent was granted in 1955. Even with patents in many countries, the fastener was slow to enter the textile industry. Partly because of its appearance, it looked as though it had been made from leftover bits of cheap fabric, so it was not sewn into clothing or widely used when it debuted in the early 1960s, and it was also regarded as impractical.
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Source Velcro (Wikipedia)
Invented By
Source Velcro (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Velcro (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory section, opening paragraph
The original hook-and-loop fastener was conceived in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, which he named velcro.
History section, patent paragraph
De Mestral submitted his idea for a patent in Switzerland in 1951, which was granted in 1955.
History section, opening paragraph, bionics sentence
Hook-and-loop is regarded by some like Steven Vogel or Werner Nachtigall as a key example of inspiration from nature or the copying of nature's mechanisms (called bionics or biomimesis).
History
The original hook-and-loop fastener was conceived in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, which he named velcro.
In Group: Adhesives and Fastening Products, Lead paragraph
Velcro is a brand of versatile fastening devices, known as hook-and-loop fasteners
Associated With: George de Mestral, History section
The original hook-and-loop fastener was conceived in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, which he named velcro.
Invented By: George de Mestral, History section
The original hook-and-loop fastener was conceived in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, which he named velcro.
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