Zippity
doo dah, zippity aye!
My,
oh my, what a wonderful day
—because today is Zipper Day!
Elias
Howe, who invented the sewing machine, obtained a patent for an
Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure (a zipperlike fastener). This
was back in 1851, but Howe never bothered to market his invention.
(He was busy succeeding with his sewing machine.)
A
few decades later, Whitcomb Judson thought up a similar device he
named a Clasp Locker. He actually manufactured and sold his device as
a way to fasten shoes, but his invention never caught on.
A
couple of decades after that, Gideon Sundback designed the modern
zipper. He called his invention a Separable Fastener, and some
sources state that he received a patent for his fastener on this date
in 1913.
Still,
no zippy name. It was B. F. Goodrich (or someone at his company) who
came up with the word zipper,
in the 1920s, when he used Sundback's fasteners on his rubber boots.
I
think a good name can be important. Do you think we would make more
than 14 billion Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closures per year—or
miles of Separable Fasteners every day?
 |
| As I mentioned, miles of zippers are manufactured every single day. (But I don't mean this sort of gigantic zipper, whatever it is!) |
Count
how many zippers you can spot in your home today. Some of the most
common places are boots, purses, backpacks, luggage, pants, skirts,
jackets, couch cushions, decorative pillows, sleeping bags, and
tents—but you may find some zippers in other places, too!
Do
a zipper
race.
One reason that zippers caught on is because they are fast at
fastening things! Compare how long it takes to close a shirt or
jacket with many buttons to a jacket with a zipper.
The
virtual mascot on the National Geographic Kids website is named
Zipper. Here are some “Zipper
Games,”
which have nothing to do with the separable fastener we celebrate
today!
Also
on this date:
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