Did you know that the same Velcro that allows you to strap on your floaters in an instant, is also used in the Jarvik-7 artificial heart to attach the chambers? NASA astronauts find Velcro indispensable-it holds down objects which would otherwise float away in zero gravity.
Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral got the idea for Velcro in 1955, when he hike with his dog. When he returned home, he found innumerable burrs stuck to his coat and socks and to the dog's fur. Curious, De Mestral examined a burr under a microscope. He discovered that it had tiny hooks on its surface that caught in the loops of the fabric (and animal fur). De Mestral devised a way of reproducing the hook and loop arrangement in woven nylon. He called it Velcro-from the French velours (velvet) and crochet (hook).
Velcro can be reused hundreds of times, sometimes outlasting the product to which it is attached! It is peelable and has enormous shear strength or resistance to sideways forces. A piece less than 1.2 cm square can support a load of 1 tonne! Today Velcro is used in an infinite number of products, comes in various colours and is made not only from nylon but also from steel and plastic.
Picture Credit : Google