3 days ago
Ask Fuzzy: Who made the first zipper?
Along with buttons and stitching, the zipper is another of those humble inventions that literally holds the world together. Zippers are now so ubiquitous that it's hard to imagine a world without them.
As with most things, the origin of the zipper is slightly messy, but an 1851 US patent describes "a series of clasps united by a connecting-cord, the said clasps running or sliding upon ribs".
In his patent, Elias Howe proclaims, "The advantage of this manner of fastening garments, &c., consists in the ease and quickness with which they can be opened or closed.."
Perhaps it was an invention before its time, or maybe he was fully occupied with the sewing machine he'd also invented, but Howe didn't spend much time promoting his device for "automatic, continuous clothing closure".
He'd discovered to his dismay that his sewing machine patent was being widely violated in the United States.
Not much more happened until Whitcomb Judson refined the concept with his "clasp locker" which he debuted at the Chicago World Fair in 1893. He patented his design as an alternative to bootlaces.
It met with little success, possibly because it looked alarming like a chainsaw blade.
The next advance was in 1913 by Swedish-born electrical engineer Gideon Sundback who increased the number of teeth from 4 per inch to 10 or 11.
While his 1917 patent lamely calls it the "separable fastener", he marketed it as the Judson C-curity Fastener.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
The "zipper" label didn't arrive until 1923 when the B.F. Goodrich Company used it for their rubber boots.
Even then, the idea didn't really take off for another 20 years when it was picked up by the fashion industry.
Production was also given a kickstart by the US military when they began using zippers during World War I. Still, those who suffered wearing army greens will know that buttoned flies were still around until around the 1980s.
NASA gave zippers another boost in the 1950s, with their development of high-pressure space suits which they used during the Apollo 11 moon landing.
In a curious coda to this story, zippers were considered a provocative fashion statement.
Hollywood rebels Marlon Brando and James Dean wore leather jackets with prominent zippers, casually half-undone. While it may be lost on us, at the time it hinted that readily unzipped clothing could be rapidly removed for some naughty action.
The idea persisted, even until 1971, when The Rolling Stones released their legendary album Sticky Fingers, with a cover design by Andy Warhol featuring a zipper.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is at 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@ Podcast:
Along with buttons and stitching, the zipper is another of those humble inventions that literally holds the world together. Zippers are now so ubiquitous that it's hard to imagine a world without them.
As with most things, the origin of the zipper is slightly messy, but an 1851 US patent describes "a series of clasps united by a connecting-cord, the said clasps running or sliding upon ribs".
In his patent, Elias Howe proclaims, "The advantage of this manner of fastening garments, &c., consists in the ease and quickness with which they can be opened or closed.."
Perhaps it was an invention before its time, or maybe he was fully occupied with the sewing machine he'd also invented, but Howe didn't spend much time promoting his device for "automatic, continuous clothing closure".
He'd discovered to his dismay that his sewing machine patent was being widely violated in the United States.
Not much more happened until Whitcomb Judson refined the concept with his "clasp locker" which he debuted at the Chicago World Fair in 1893. He patented his design as an alternative to bootlaces.
It met with little success, possibly because it looked alarming like a chainsaw blade.
The next advance was in 1913 by Swedish-born electrical engineer Gideon Sundback who increased the number of teeth from 4 per inch to 10 or 11.
While his 1917 patent lamely calls it the "separable fastener", he marketed it as the Judson C-curity Fastener.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
The "zipper" label didn't arrive until 1923 when the B.F. Goodrich Company used it for their rubber boots.
Even then, the idea didn't really take off for another 20 years when it was picked up by the fashion industry.
Production was also given a kickstart by the US military when they began using zippers during World War I. Still, those who suffered wearing army greens will know that buttoned flies were still around until around the 1980s.
NASA gave zippers another boost in the 1950s, with their development of high-pressure space suits which they used during the Apollo 11 moon landing.
In a curious coda to this story, zippers were considered a provocative fashion statement.
Hollywood rebels Marlon Brando and James Dean wore leather jackets with prominent zippers, casually half-undone. While it may be lost on us, at the time it hinted that readily unzipped clothing could be rapidly removed for some naughty action.
The idea persisted, even until 1971, when The Rolling Stones released their legendary album Sticky Fingers, with a cover design by Andy Warhol featuring a zipper.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is at 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@ Podcast:
Along with buttons and stitching, the zipper is another of those humble inventions that literally holds the world together. Zippers are now so ubiquitous that it's hard to imagine a world without them.
As with most things, the origin of the zipper is slightly messy, but an 1851 US patent describes "a series of clasps united by a connecting-cord, the said clasps running or sliding upon ribs".
In his patent, Elias Howe proclaims, "The advantage of this manner of fastening garments, &c., consists in the ease and quickness with which they can be opened or closed.."
Perhaps it was an invention before its time, or maybe he was fully occupied with the sewing machine he'd also invented, but Howe didn't spend much time promoting his device for "automatic, continuous clothing closure".
He'd discovered to his dismay that his sewing machine patent was being widely violated in the United States.
Not much more happened until Whitcomb Judson refined the concept with his "clasp locker" which he debuted at the Chicago World Fair in 1893. He patented his design as an alternative to bootlaces.
It met with little success, possibly because it looked alarming like a chainsaw blade.
The next advance was in 1913 by Swedish-born electrical engineer Gideon Sundback who increased the number of teeth from 4 per inch to 10 or 11.
While his 1917 patent lamely calls it the "separable fastener", he marketed it as the Judson C-curity Fastener.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
The "zipper" label didn't arrive until 1923 when the B.F. Goodrich Company used it for their rubber boots.
Even then, the idea didn't really take off for another 20 years when it was picked up by the fashion industry.
Production was also given a kickstart by the US military when they began using zippers during World War I. Still, those who suffered wearing army greens will know that buttoned flies were still around until around the 1980s.
NASA gave zippers another boost in the 1950s, with their development of high-pressure space suits which they used during the Apollo 11 moon landing.
In a curious coda to this story, zippers were considered a provocative fashion statement.
Hollywood rebels Marlon Brando and James Dean wore leather jackets with prominent zippers, casually half-undone. While it may be lost on us, at the time it hinted that readily unzipped clothing could be rapidly removed for some naughty action.
The idea persisted, even until 1971, when The Rolling Stones released their legendary album Sticky Fingers, with a cover design by Andy Warhol featuring a zipper.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is at 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@ Podcast:
Along with buttons and stitching, the zipper is another of those humble inventions that literally holds the world together. Zippers are now so ubiquitous that it's hard to imagine a world without them.
As with most things, the origin of the zipper is slightly messy, but an 1851 US patent describes "a series of clasps united by a connecting-cord, the said clasps running or sliding upon ribs".
In his patent, Elias Howe proclaims, "The advantage of this manner of fastening garments, &c., consists in the ease and quickness with which they can be opened or closed.."
Perhaps it was an invention before its time, or maybe he was fully occupied with the sewing machine he'd also invented, but Howe didn't spend much time promoting his device for "automatic, continuous clothing closure".
He'd discovered to his dismay that his sewing machine patent was being widely violated in the United States.
Not much more happened until Whitcomb Judson refined the concept with his "clasp locker" which he debuted at the Chicago World Fair in 1893. He patented his design as an alternative to bootlaces.
It met with little success, possibly because it looked alarming like a chainsaw blade.
The next advance was in 1913 by Swedish-born electrical engineer Gideon Sundback who increased the number of teeth from 4 per inch to 10 or 11.
While his 1917 patent lamely calls it the "separable fastener", he marketed it as the Judson C-curity Fastener.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
The "zipper" label didn't arrive until 1923 when the B.F. Goodrich Company used it for their rubber boots.
Even then, the idea didn't really take off for another 20 years when it was picked up by the fashion industry.
Production was also given a kickstart by the US military when they began using zippers during World War I. Still, those who suffered wearing army greens will know that buttoned flies were still around until around the 1980s.
NASA gave zippers another boost in the 1950s, with their development of high-pressure space suits which they used during the Apollo 11 moon landing.
In a curious coda to this story, zippers were considered a provocative fashion statement.
Hollywood rebels Marlon Brando and James Dean wore leather jackets with prominent zippers, casually half-undone. While it may be lost on us, at the time it hinted that readily unzipped clothing could be rapidly removed for some naughty action.
The idea persisted, even until 1971, when The Rolling Stones released their legendary album Sticky Fingers, with a cover design by Andy Warhol featuring a zipper.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is at 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@ Podcast:
