Velcro was invented by a dog. Well, not quite. But despite the exaggeration, a dog did play an instrumental role in the invention, and inspired the scientist to create such a material.

In 1948, a Swiss man—George de Mestral—decided that it was the perfect day to take his dog on a hike through the mountains. After an hour or so long nature walk, tramping through the bushes and brush surrounding the trail, both man and dog were covered in those pesky burrs that get stuck in clothes or dog fur. Mestral—scientist that he was—wanted to know more about the properties of the burrs that caused them to stick so well. He took his dog underneath the microscope to examine the burrs more closely.

What he found were microscopic hooks which enabled the burr to cling strongly to the fabric loops in his pants. Inspired, Mestral decided that he could replicate this natural phenomenon in his laboratory by creating some kind of two-sided fastener. One side would contain hooks like the burrs; the other would contain loops like his pants, or his dog’s fur. The name Velcro is actually a combination of the words velour and crochet.

Within seven years, Mestral had perfected his invention and gotten his Velcro patented. Velcro Industries manufactures over sixty-million yards of Velcro per year, and is still growing.
Velcro has had many important uses, in both household and industry situations. One of the first major uses of Velcro was by the aerospace industry in space suits, to increase the ease with which astronauts could get in and out of their suits. Clothing for winter sports soon followed in the trend of using Velcro, and then scuba and marine gear joined in. Now, Velcro is used in daily household applications integral to our modern life. All because Mestral decided to take his dog on a hike through the mountains.