Assignment #5 George de Mestral

George de Mestral was a Swiss electrical engineer and inventor born June 19, 1907 in Colombier Switzerland. When he was twelve years old, he designed and patented a toy airplane. After graduating from a Swiss polytechnic university, he got a job in a machine shop of an engineering company. In his free time, he enjoyed outdoor activities like hiking in the nearby mountains. Oftentimes, George would return home with many burrs stuck to his own clothes and the fur of his dog. He looked at the burrs through a microscope and found that there were tiny little hooks that enabled them to cling to animals for relocation.
George de Mestral was able to manufacture artificial strips of burrs and intended to use them as a sort of fastener, much like a zipper. Although there was some early public resistance to the idea of Velcro, the product sold enough for George to start his own company earning him millions of dollars. In 1951, he successfully patented the material and would sell about 55,000 kilometers annually. Eventually, Velcro would become a household term and product, although it is a trademarked name. Today, velcro can be found on things like shoes, clothes, football and other sports equipment, pocket flaps, and book bags among countless other things.

http://www.velcro.com/about/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_de_mestral