On a summer day in 1948, a Swiss (瑞士的) man named George de Mestral took his dog for a walk in the mountains. After they came home, George discovered that he and his dog were both covered with burrs (带芒刺的小果实).

As an engineer, George naturally began to wonder how exactly the burrs stuck to his dog and his clothes. Then he paid careful attention to looking at them under a microscope (显微镜). He found that the burrs had very tiny hooks (钩子), which allowed them to catch on to things like clothes. George realized that he could use this finding to create a new way to fasten (扣紧) things.

As so often, it is a very long journey from the first idea to the final product. It was easy to find materials that could stick together, but finding materials that would continue to do so after years of use was not easy. George tested a very large number of different materials and production methods. After years of research and work, he invented what is known today as Velcro (魔术贴). In 1955 George started Velcro Industries to turn his idea into a product. In a few years, the product became popular around the world.

Today Velcro is used everywhere. It’s used in backpacks, jackets, wallets, children’s toys, etc. It even turns up in places you wouldn’t expect. For example, Velcro has been used by NASA for astronauts’ suits. The product was also used to hold the heart together during the very first artificial heart transplant   (人工心脏移植).