| MadSci Network: Botany |
The fruit of cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium) has tiny hooks that catch in the threads of clothing. In 1948, George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer noticed cockleburs caught in his clothes and examined them under the microscope. It gave him the idea to invent the fastener Velcro, which has hooks on one side and loops on the other. Cockleburs are designed to hitch rides with animals in order to spread their seeds. A variety of other plant fruits have hooks or barbs of some kind that also enable them to catch in fur, feathers, hooves, or clothing including carrot, tickseed, burdock, and Devil's Claws. References Velcro Invention Remarkable Cocklebur Agents of Fruit and Seed Dispersal Drawings of Some Fruits with Stick Tights Devil's Claws Ultimate And Painful Hitchhikers
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