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The idea for Velcro came to George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, after returning from a walk in the Alps with his dogs. He examined the burrs stuck to both his jacket and the dogs' fur under a microscope.

After much experimentation, he discovered that when sewn under hot infrared light, nylon formed hooks that were perfect for the hook side of the fastener. Making the looped side was another problem entirely. Nylon thread was resilient and when heated would retain its shape but it had to be cut in just the right spot so that it could be stuck and unstuck repeatedly. Eventually, when he was about to give up, he cut the tops off of the loops and created hooks that match up perfectly with the loops.

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14y ago

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