Burdock Thistle

Pulling the burrs of the burdock thistles off his clothes and his dog following a hike, George de Mestral wanted to understand how these burrs clung to his clothing and his dog's fur. He looked at the burrs under the microscope and saw the tiny hooks on the end of the burrs’ spines that caught anything with a loop. God had designed the tiny hooks to help the thistle spread its seed.

For 10 years, de Mestral worked on inventing new fabrics—one would have a hook and the other a loop, so that they stuck together and could be easily pulled apart. He began making his fabrics in 1952 and called his invention Velcro® (from the French words for “velvet” and “hook”). You probably have de Mestral’s invention on your shoes, your backpack, or some of your clothes!