Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Velcro

Common Burdock is an introduced plant from Eurasia. It has become an unwanted species in our parks and natural areas. I find the flowers very attractive and also love to see the seedpods, never forgetting, however, that this has become an invasive species. This was taken on a cold winter's day on the eastern side of the Bow River, across from Mallard Point.

Apparently, the tiny hooks on the burrs of the Common Burdock plant provided the inspiration for the creation of Velcro! "The hook-loop fastener was invented in 1948 by Swiss engineer, George de Mestral. The idea came to him after he took a close look at the Burdock seeds which kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur on their daily summer walks in the Alps. He examined their condition and saw the possibility of binding two materials reversibly in a simple fashion. He developed the hook and loop fastener and submitted his idea for patent in 1951. It was then granted in 1955. De Mestral named his invention "VELCRO" after the French words velours, meaning 'velvet', and crochet, or 'hook'. The uses and applications of the product are numerous. Today, the VELCRO mark is the subject of more than 300 trademark registrations in over 160 countries." From Wikipedia.

The Lesser Burdock is the main Burdock here in Calgary but I did get a chance to see this one Greater Burdock plant. The Velcro-like burrs attach to one's clothing or animals' fur. According to enchantedlearning.com, "George de Mestral was a Swiss engineer who invented Velcro in 1948. While hiking, he had noticed that burrs (burdock seeds) stuck to his clothing extraordinarily well. The burrs had hook-like protrusions that attached themselves firmly to clothing. Mestral used this same model to develop Velcro, which consists of one strip of nylon with loops, and another with hooks. Mestral patented Velcro in 1957. It was originally used mostly for fastening clothes, but is now used to fasten many other things."