Did you know that simple trip out in nature can change the world? A Swiss engineer, a dog and a trip to the forest have changed forever the way we close up our suits, boots, bags etc. Georges de Mestral invented Velcro (rip-tab) because he was interested in the way burs stick to his dog’s fur.

The engineer observed, under microscope study, that burs have thousands of tiny hooks which stick to any textile material.

After 15 years of research, Mestral succeeded in discovering the perfect material which reproduces what he had seen in nature. Although Velcro was stacked on shop shelves beginning with the ‘50s, it was just in the ‘70s, after having been used by NASA for space suits, that Velcro actually became popular. His invention earned Mestral 90 million dollars, and we have earned an item which makes our lives easier. Today, Velcro is used almost for anything: from routine things, such as closing up shoes, to vital things, such as maintaining artificial hearts in their place.