An Irish Dog: The Co-Inventor of Velcro
In 1941, Swiss engineer George de Mestral trekked through the Swiss Alps with his dog, an Irish pointer named Milka. It’s reported that, following their outings, Mr. de Mestral had to spend a lot of time grooming his faithful friend to dislodge all the burdock burrs tangled in the dog’s hair coat.
This tedious task got Mr. de Mestral’s creative juices flowing. He examined the burrs under a microscope and noted the teeny tiny hooks that latched onto his dog’s hair. He copied this phenomenon with an invention named after the French words for velvet and hook, velours and crochet. Thus the invention of Velcro!
According to history, it took many years for Mr. de Mestral’s creation to catch on (no pun intended). As you know, Velcro has become a sensationally versatile and popular product. Think about it—had Milka sported a coarse hair coat rather than something finer, the burrs might never have latched on, and we’d be living Velcro-less lives?
The next time you’re painstakingly removing burrs from your dog’s hair coat or a thunderstorm causes your dog to “stick to you like Velcro,” do not despair. Rather, remind yourself about George de Mestral and his amazing invention inspired by the awesome combination of nature and a dog.
My dog Quinn’s fine, feathered hair is a burr magnet. How about your dog?
Best wishes to you and your four-legged family members for abundant good health,
Dr. Nancy
Yes! This is one of my favourite stories. In fact, to take it further it became velcro as a portmanteau—"velours" (velvet) and "crochet" (hook)— I love the creativity behind the thinking and everything. I've told all my friends it nearly became 'let's put some mestral on there to stick it together'. Haha.
Who knew? Not me! But thanks to you Nancy, now I do :)