Who doesn’t like zippers? Think about how convenient it is to close a bag in one motion or how you can fit snugly into your clothes with a quick zipper. Other than the minimal cases of zippers getting stuck, there are countless uses for zippers.
Some may wonder how zippers became the friendly companion we have today when opening and closing things. Remember how some of the world’s greatest inventions and discoveries were accidental and not originally intended for the purposes for which they are known today? Well, the journey of the zipper is something similar with a few name changes thrown in.
When you think of zippers nowadays, it is most often associated with clothing. However, the zipper was not originally created for clothing. In addition, it wasn’t even called a zipper back then. Look at the zippered shoe, an invention of mechanical engineer Whitcomb Judson.
Judson came up with the idea of a shoe with a zipper for a friend of his who had difficulty tying his shoes because he couldn’t bend down and do it because of a bad back. Even if the concept and idea remain virtually unchanged, today’s zipper looks different from the shoe with the clasp. The latter consisted of a series of hooks and eyes that acted as fasteners that could be opened and closed with one hand, which is different from modern zippers with metal teeth and ribbons.
Judson went on to patent the design of the zipper shoe to begin manufacturing it, but it was not a business success. The journey was continued by Judson’s chief engineer, Gideon Sandbeck.
He developed Judson’s design, which consisted of two flexible metal teeth that closed and opened, causing a slip. This is similar to a modern zipper, but he patented the design and called it a split clasp.
Over time, the split zipper became the zipper as we know it today. The term “zipper” was given because of the sound it makes when the slide is fastened. Nothing special, but the name would accurately indicate the thing itself.
The manufacturing process of modern zippers has also improved over the years, allowing them to be made quickly and easily. Molten aluminum is processed on molding machines to produce a unique zipper design. Considering its convenience, it would be better to have enough zippers, right?