Velcro, Burrs, and Biomimicry – Current Happenings Across STEM Magazine

How a Small Observation of Burrs Led to One of the Most Widespread Inventions of All Time

Contrary to popular belief, Velcro was not invented by NASA (1). It was originally invented by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, later popularized by the U.S. space program, Puma shoes, and a wide variety of other applications (2). Today, Velcro is a versatile household product used for everything from fastening children’s shoes to ensuring medical devices function effectively. How did de Mestral develop such a niche mechanism?

One day, after taking a walk in the woods, de Mestral noticed a clump of burrs attached to his dog. Upon closer inspection, he realized that they latched onto the fur using an array of small hooks (3). Inspired by this natural adhesion, de Mestral came up with the idea to replicate the hooking mechanism using nylon. In 1952, he founded the company Velcro with fellow engineers. The name Velcro comes from a combination of the French words velour and crochet (velvet and hook) (4). Similar to Kleenex, Velcro is a brand name rather than a generic name used for all nylon hook and loop mechanisms.

The mechanism works by using a series of tiny hooks on one piece and a series of tiny loops on the other. When pressed together, the hooks grab onto the loops. It takes extra force to pull the loops hard enough to detach from the hooks, making Velcro a resilient fastening mechanism. Traditionally, the Velcro mechanism was produced using nylon for both the hooks and the loops. Today, there is a wide variety of Velcro products that use slightly different materials and shapes to adhere in different contexts; however, they all rely on some form of hook-and-loop (5).

Velcro is a prime example of biomimicry, a process in which designs from nature inspire new technology. Other examples include how birds’ wings inspired airplanes and how snakeskin inspired shoe grip. Biomimicry is useful for innovation because natural selection has already eliminated weaker traits, saving scientists time otherwise spent on trial and error (6). By drawing inspiration from the world around us, scientists can use nature’s designs for a wide range of applications.

A moment as simple as noticing a few burrs stuck to a dog inspired one of the most widespread inventions of all time. It is difficult to imagine a world without Velcro in classrooms, clothing, appliances, or on walls. Although NASA didn’t invent it, the agency relied heavily on Velcro for their success. For example, the Apollo 11 mission used 3,300 square inches of Velcro to keep materials organized, secure astronauts’ boots, and even allow astronauts to scratch their noses inside their helmets (7). Velcro’s impact is, quite literally, out of this world!

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