Zipper history - you know you always wondered

[ashling]

You may have read my post about this guy, R. Zipperer


NO?

Wel, l WHY THE HECK NOT??!!!



well, here it is: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018410926

You can go read it now, I'll wait













well, now my random web journeys have me finding

ALL THINGS ZIPPER!

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aside to MFM: I hope this 'period Enter x2 repeat' thing is not patented or anything.

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Now for a question you have all been asking

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Why do most zippers say "YKK" on the pull-tab?

YKK is a huge company that makes zippers!

Here is a bit of zipper history. The "clasp locker" as it was called, was invented in 1891 by Whitcomb L. Judson. The clasp locker was an assemblage of hooks and eyes that Judson thought would save people time and sore backs fastening their shoes with one hand. Later, in 1913, Gideon Sundback of Sweden developed the predecessor of today's zipper that used metal teeth, and patented it in 1917. Sundback's design was the first design that saw practical use. Sundback's "separable fastener" had more fasteners per inch than the earlier clasp locker. Later, the B.F. Goodrich Co. used the separable fastener in some rubber boots and came up with the name "zipper" because the boots could be fastened with one hand. Today, zippers are also made of plastic as well.

*** [boring stuff] ***

YKK zippers are found in:

Clothing
Furniture
Automobiles
Luggage
Sports equipment

A YKK factory site in Macon, Ga., produces 7 million zippers a day, in a total of 1,500 styles in more than 427 standard colors. It's the largest zipper factory in the world. The Macon site produces its own brass to make the teeth and slider parts of a zipper. The same factory also produces and dyes the yarn that is woven into the fabric portion of a zipper. And YKK also produces the machines that make the zippers! YKK has leveraged its knowledge of working with metals to form an aluminum building products division that now accounts for two-thirds of YKK's worldwide sales.

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/question469.htm


Now, don't ask again!