Velcro is the brand name for a lightweight, durable, and washable fastening, widely used instead of zips in clothing and luggage. It consists of two strips of nylon fabric, one densely covered in small, strong hooks and the other containing small loops. When pressed together, the two strips form a strong bond that can be peeled apart again, making a characteristic ripping noise, but will not open if pulled in any other direction.
Swiss engineer George de Mestral (1907-1990) had The idea for Velcro in 1941 after getting his microscope out to Study the burrs stuck to his dog's fur and his own clothing, following a hike in the Alps. Burrs— seedheads of the burdock plant—have lots of strong little hooks that fix onto passing animals (and walkers) and stay tenaciously attached until the animal cleans them off, usually depositing them some distance from the parent plant. De Mestral saw the potential for a two-sided fastener, using strong hooks on one side and a looped fabric into which the hooks became entangled, and called it velcro from the French words velour (velvet) and crochet (hook).
Although De Mestral's idea was initially greeted with skepticism and laughter, he set up Velcro Industries in Switzerland in 1952, and worked with a weaver from a French textiles company to perfect the design; he patented the invention in 1955. By the early 1960s velcro was becoming a household name throughout the world. Velcro is a registered trademark 1n many countries, but the brand name has also become the generic term.
