Hello everyone, my name is Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, you must have heard some inventions from my

friends in my group, and now welcome to my presentation with a burdock seed-inspired velcro theme.

Have you ever wondered how do inventors invent, they must get their ideas from somewhere that
inspires them. It would be a chance encounter improbable occurrence or even a dream the night before.
In fact, lots of ideas that we might up end patenting one day already exists. But where can we find it?
Just stop and look around you at nature. So many inventions and technologies were quite simply
inspired by Mother nature. Like the topic, I want to talk to you about today, is burdock seed-inspired
velcro. Velcro, sometimes called ‘ ‘the zipper-less zipper ”, is one such item, modeled after the plant’s
common seed box. The idea of making Velcro came unexpectedly. In 1948, George de Mestral, a Swiss
engineer, went hiking in the woods accompanied by his dog. They passed by some plants along the way
and they both brushed up against the plants as they walked. When George got home, he found small
seeds stuck all over his clothes. His dog's fur was covered too. He decided to get a closer look at these
sticky seeds, and when he put them under a microscope, he saw that they were covered in tiny sticks
shaped like hooks. Those types of seeds are called burrs. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind: is it
possible that grinders attached to clothes can be used commercially as binders? After years of
investigating the burr's properties. George translated its fixing and fastening functions into textiles
creating what we now know as the hook-and-loop. He obtained a patent on his hook and loops in 1955
and he named his revolutionary invention by amalgamating the French word ''velour'' meaning velvet
and ''crochet'' meaning hook hence creating the brand known as Velcro. So how does the velcro in my
hand work? Velcro is made up of two surfaces: one surface is made up of tiny, stiff hooks, just like the
burrs did and the other side has soft, flexible loops of fabric, just like George's clothes or his dog's fur.
When the two sides of the surface are pressed together, hundred of hooks will attach to the tiny loops,
resulting in a strong bond. The bond can be removed easily by pulling the surface up, making a familiar
hoarse sound. Velcro adopted this technology and commonly made their products using nylon and
polyester. Today, there are ten of thousands of velcro products in anything from clothing and shoe, or to
blood pressure armbands and artificial turf for football pitches. Even the first man on the moon Neil
Armstrong's spacesuit was stuck together with Velcro. NASA used Velcro for a number of flights and
space experiments. In the 1960s, Apollo astronauts used Velcro to fasten all kinds of devices in their
space capsules for easy retrieval, and the popularity and development of velcro are increasing day by
day. Starting in 1968, shoe companies such as Puma, Adidas, and Reebok integrated Velcro straps into
children’s shoes. The widely publicized stunt furthered the craze, resulting in more companies adapting
Velcro into their products and becoming an integral part of our lives.