Do you know the story of how the velcro was invented? If you don’t know here is the story-
In 1948, a man named George de Mestral was walking his dog in the Alps in Switzerland. He noticed that burrs were stuck to his dog’s fur. They were as also stuck to his socks, pants and jacket. Being curious, he looked at the burrs under a microscope. They were covered in tiny hooks. He realized that one hook by itself was not strong, but that lots of them together were very strong.
Inspired by the hooks on the burr, Mestral thought that maybe he could invent a new type of fastener to be used instead of metal zippers. He set out to invent a material that has hooks on one side that connect with loops on the other. It was difficult and took seven years. He tried working with other materials like cotton, but none of them worked. Finally, he discovered that nylon could be used to make strong hooks. Finally satisfied, in 1955 he patented Velcro — which is a combination of the French words “velour” (velvet) and “crochet” (hook). Velcro was an immediate success. Today we use it to fasten and attach many things, including sneakers, school binders, art supplies, camping equipment and clothes.
So, the velcro was invented by the help of nature. Now have you ever touched a feather? It’s never tangled into a knot instead, it is like a paper. Why? Because Feather has hooks, Small tiny hooks.
Look at the image below, there are five parts-
- Pennaceous Region- (the blue part) the area where barbs interlock to create a smooth surface or vane
- Barbs- the main branches off the central rachis
- Rachis- the stiff central shaft from which the barbs branch
- Calamus- the hollow barbless base of the stiff central shaft where muscles attach
- Plumulaceous Region- (the orange part) the area where barbs do not interlock
In the image where feathers are pennaceous, the many small hooks on each barbule interlock like velcro with barbules from the next barb over to form a smooth surface or vane. This microstructure is what allows feathers to shed water and support flight.
In the image which is inside the circle, there are-
- Rachis- the stiff central shaft from which the barbs branch
- Barb- one of the primary branches off the central rachis
- Barbule- one of the secondary branches off each barb
Where feathers are plumulaceous, barbules do not have hooks and so do not interlock with nearby barbules. The barbs spread out into a fluffy mass rather than forming a flat surface. This loose microstructure traps air next to the bird’s warm body and allows some birds to stay warm through frigid winter nights of -40°F (-40°C) or colder.
I hope you understood how a feather works and find feathers and birds interesting.
If you want to know more about feathers click here