05-13-1958 Velcro is Registered as a Trademark
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Biological Systems and Agricultural Engineering Chemical, Biochemical, Biomolecular Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation History of Science and Technology Manufacturing Engineering Materials Engineering Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Community - Blog |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Alice Agogino |
| Description: | Engineering Pathway's "Today in History" for May 13. Excerpt: "Today in History - May 13, 1958 - Velcro® trademark is registered for a fabric hook and loop fastener. The way George de Mestral, a Swiss mountaineer, tells the story, he was hiking with his dog in 1948 and was frustrated to see all of these burrs covering them both when he returned home. He says he was fascinated by how tough they were to take off and looked at them in a microscope. He saw that they had small hooks that enabled the seed-bearing burr to cling effectively to the small fabric loops on his pants. This was an “aha†moment and he was inspired to design a fastener using the same concept. He called his invention ‘velcro’, combining the French words velour (velvet) and crochet (hook). He predicted: “It will rival the zipper in its ability to fasten.†The idea was not an immediate success and met with derision by some. He persevered and worked with a weaver from a textile plant in France to develop a nylon type fabric that had the hook and loop fastener concept, patented it in 1955 and trademarked it in 1958. A U.S. patent was filed on May 9, 1958 and awarded on Nov. 21, 1961. The original Velcro® company was formed in 1952 to manufacture this invention and now Velcro® is a multi-million dollar industry." |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | velcro George de Mestral Mestral biomimetics |
| Is Component of: |
"Today in History" Blog of the Engineering Pathway Digital Library |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: |
Great case study in biomimetics. |
| Difficulty: |
Easy |
| Interactivity Level: |
Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | May 2009 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.k-grayengineeringeducation.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/ |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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