Who Invented Velcro?

Who Invented Velcro

In our daily life, we use Velcro for numerous tasks. It helps to fasten coats and shoes, secures leg braces and arm slings, and even hold the kid’s toys. Without a doubt, there are loads of uses of Velcro. So, if you are interested in knowing as to how it was invented, then you are in the right place. The story is fun and is true.

The idea of Velcro came to a Swiss electrical engineer, named George de Mestral of Switzerland. On a lovely summer day in 1948, when he took his dog for a walk. Both of them were covered in burrs when they reached home. Mestral was happy. Without wasting any time he took one of the burrs off his pants and examined it under a microscope. He came to know that the burr was sheltered with lots of tiny hooks that allowed it to cling to his clothes and to his dog’s fur.

George de Mestral
George de Mestral – Inventor of Velcro 

After spending a day examining the burr under the microscope, Mestral made up his mind to prepare a fastener that had similar hooks on the side and loops on the other side.

As generally, people laugh when something is invented, the same happened with Mestral and people thought that he is merely wasting his time. However, Mestral was totally focused to make the world believe in his invention. He then hired a French weaver to assist him in making the fabric flawless. Velcro was patented by Mestral in the year 1955 and he went to form Velcro Industries to manufacture his fabric. It didn’t take long for the company to sell 70 million yards of fabric annually.

In the modern world, Velcro is highly in demand. It is used in the health care profession, the clothing industry, and even by the toy manufacturers.

where did the idea of velcro come from

The inventor of Velcro Mestral, along with his friends, finally duplicated the mother’s hook and loop fastener in the manufacturing plant. The outcome of his new invention was Velcro. He decided to use a combination of words velour and crochet to name his invention, and then Velcro took place. He made his invention look like the zipper so that it could also be used for the tasks where zippers might not work.

Burrs
Idea of Velcro came from Burrs

The Inspiration of Velcro came from Nature Velcro, even though it’s a very simple product, but it is used widely. It is used in almost everything we use in our routine life. Velcro which came into existence in 1948 thanks to George de Mestral used the mechanism of the hook-and-loop fastener in its working. George de Mestral took a close look at the burrs that stuck in his pants. He examined it under a microscope and noted lots of hooks that caught on anything with a loop. Mestral then, patented Velcro in 1955, developing and refining its practical manufacture until its commercial introduction.

it is easy to use and is safe, it is used in a variety of products. Sports, Plants, medical operations and even the space shuttles use Velcro.

After the invention of Velcro, there have been loads of such advanced inventions in this field, but it’s the general tendency of humans that they are always hungry. So the question is what’s next now? What is now going to motivate the human race and get developed into basic utilities later?

As you had just read the uses of Velcro, as to how they are used in our daily routine. But the tricky question here is that how can you use it beyond the obvious?

How the invention of Velcro makes people life easier.

  1. Repair Suitcases, Handbags, and Purses One: of the most general problems with purses and bags is that their locks are not made to last the test of time. This is where Velcro comes into the picture. By applying it with some glue, you can easily make the purse stay closed while hiding the technique of closure. It will for sure increase the life of the bags and purses.
  2. Hang Pictures: Depending on the weight of the frame, you can easily hang pictures and canvases to walls without any real trouble. The hook-and-loop system provides great holding power. And it becomes easy to rehang or reposition it. It is easy and better than knocking holes in your walls after you dig a hole in the wall it would be compulsory for you to hang it up there only because if you don’t the wall won’t look good ( who likes a wall with a hole in it )
  3. Keep Cables Tied Up: Today, we use a lot of gadgets, and the more we have them, the more cables we need to keep. In the market, you would find numerous types of cable ties, but they won’t last long, and you would have to keep spending your hard-earned money only to buy those cables. This is where Velcro is considered as the best solution. You have the luxury to cut the pieces to any size according to your requirements, and when you have to move the stereo, the computer, you can unfasten the Velcro strap.
  4. Hide External Hard Drives: External Hard Drives for computers have become so much affordable these days. You can now get a 1TB external hard drive for $50. It’s obvious, these extra gadgets would consume some desk space, and you have loads of unused space to use. Without any doubt, it is the underside of your desk. All you have to do is simply place a Velcro on top of the external drive, and then attach Velcro to the underside of the desk. You can keep numerous hard drives hidden there. And no need to worry they’re very easy to remove if you want them to take with yourself.
  5. Organize Jewelry: Form a piece of art that has a use. You would require a piece of canvas, Velcro and colored felt. And in less than 25 minutes you’ll have an excellent way to organize jewelry that looks at home in any bedroom. ` If you are willing to make clean up time fun in the kids’ room. Craft a larger version and simply add Velcro tape to the toys. They can have all types of sticking then to the right places on your walls.