History - Inventions and discoveries - Hook-and-loop fasteners - Biomimicry - Switzerland - History of inventions
Which Swiss engineer developed the modern Velcro fastener based on burdock?
Correct!
The idea for modern Velcro came to the Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral in the early 1940s. After a trip, he noticed that burrs had stubbornly clung to his clothes and his dog's fur. Georges de Mestral discovered the crucial mechanism under the microscope: the burdocks have tiny hooks that get caught in loops of fabric and animal fur. He then tried to recreate this natural principle technically - an early and famous example of bionics or biomimicry. This resulted in a closure system with two different surfaces: one side has numerous small hooks, the other many loops. When pressed together, they interlock and can then be separated from each other again. Georges de Mestral filed a patent for his invention in Switzerland in 1951; He received a corresponding patent in the USA in 1955. He created the name VELCRO® for his product from French terms for velvet and hooks. VELCRO® is a brand; The general name for the technology is Velcro or hook-and-loop fastener.
Georges de Mestral developed the modern Velcro fastener based on the example of burrs.
