Everything about Velcro totally explained
Velcro is a brand name of fabric
hook-and-loop fasteners. It consists of two layers: a "hook" side, which is a piece of
fabric covered with tiny
hooks, and a "loop" side, which is covered with even smaller and "hairier"
loops. When the two sides are pressed together, the hooks catch in the loops and hold the pieces together. When the layers are separated, the strips make a characteristic "ripping" sound.
Velcro can be made of many things- the first sample was made of
cotton, which was proved impractical, who lived in Commugny, Switzerland.
The idea came to him one day after returning from a hunting trip with his dog in the Alps. He took a close look at the
burrs (seeds) of
burdock that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur. He examined them under a microscope, and noted their hundreds of "hooks" that caught on anything with a loop, such as clothing, animal fur, or hair. He saw the possibility of binding two materials reversibly in a simple fashion, Nylon had only recently been invented, and through trial and error he eventually discovered that, when sewn under hot infrared light, nylon forms hooks that were perfect for the hook side of the fastener.
Genericized trademark
The Velcro brand is an example of a
genericized trademark—a brand name that has become the generic term for a type of product. The Velcro company has forbidden its employees to use the term 'velcro', in an effort to stop this. Instead the employees must use the generic terms "hook and loop fastener", "hook tape", or "loop tape". The company is very protective, and has said:
"Velcro is the name of our companies and is a registered trademark for our products. It isn't the generic name of the product that fastens shoes, pockets, and hundreds of other things. That product is generically known as 'hook-and-loop fastener' or 'touch fasteners'."
Instead they refer to their product as 'the Velcro brand hook-and-loop fastener'.
Besides being used as a generic term for hook and loop fasteners, the word 'velcro' has also become a verb, as in 'velcroed', which means to be attached by velcro. It has been used as such since approximately 1972. A velcro patch is used inside astronauts' helmets where it serves as a nose scratcher.
The
US Army is another big user. It uses hook and loop fasteners on
combat uniforms to attach name tapes, rank insignia, shoulder pockets for unit patches, skill tabs, and recognition devices, such as the infrared (IR) feedback
American flag. They also had the Velcro company create a silent version of Velcro for use with Army soldier
uniforms, as the ripping sound could betray the soldier's position. A new version was created which reduced the noise by over 95%. The manufacturing process to create this noiseless velcro is, however, a military secret. The wall is
inflated, and looks similar to other
inflatable structures. It isn't necessarily completely covered in velcro-often there will be vertical strips of velcro. Sometimes, instead of a running jump, people use a small trampoline.
David Letterman immortalized this during the Feb 28, 1984 episode of
Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. David Letterman proved that with enough velcro a man could be hurled against a wall and stick, by performing this feat himself on TV. Jeremy Bayliss and Graeme Smith of the Cri Bar and Grill in Napier, New Zealand, started it after seeing American astronauts velcroed to walls during space flights. They created their own equipment for the "human fly" contests, and sold it to several others in New Zealand. Duffy then created a wraparound cast made from a single plastic sheet sealed with his fasteners to replace similar removable casts with velcro straps. His sister-in-law had a removable cast with velcro strips, and complained about the velcro because it absorbed perspiration and thus smelled, as well as catching on her clothing.
Velcro has become part of a recurring joke in various media in which it's claimed that modern humans would be unable to invent Velcro, and that it's in fact a form of advanced technology. For example, K claims in
Men in Black that Velcro was originally alien technology, and part of the plot of the 2002
Star Trek Enterprise episode
Carbon Creek, features Velcro as being given to modern society by time travelers from the Federation. (Also one of the Vulcan characters in this episode was named Mestral in tribute to the name of Velcro's real-life inventor.) More recently one of the characters in the 2004 film
Garden State made a vast fortune from inventing silent velcro.
That velcro has entered popular culture is also evidenced by its use as a verb, as in "he velcroed his shoes" meaning to fasten with velcro.
[Further Information]
Get more info on 'Velcro'.
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