What is the history of Velcro?

The hook-and-loop fastener was conceived in 1941 by Swiss engineer, Georges de Mestral

who lived in Commugny, Switzerland. The idea came to him one day after returning from a hunting trip with his dog in the Alps.

He took a close look at the burrs

(seeds) of burdock

that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur. He examined them under a microscope, and noted their hundreds of "hooks" that caught on anything with a loop, such as clothing, animal fur, or hair. He saw the possibility of binding two materials reversibly in a simple fashion if he could figure out how to duplicate the hooks and loops.