Velcronomics

Today's rant (if my newspaper can do it, I guess I can, too). But first, a little background. One day in 1948, a Swiss inventor named George de Mestral took his dog for a walk. On his return home, he noticed that both he and his dog were covered with burrs. An examination under the microscope revealed that small hooks in the burrs made them cling both to his pants and the dog. This was his "Eureka!" moment. Seven years later, he had patented his little invention, two strips that clung together because one strip had little hooks. That's why today we have Velcro.

So, it's been over 50 years, and Velcro ("velour" plus "crochet") is a multimillion-dollar industry. WHY DON'T WE USE IT TO FASTEN EVERYTHING? I was brought to this question recently (and moved to look up the invention's history) when someone at work made fun of a pair of my footwear, which use Velcro, as "Alzheimer's shoes," an apparent reference to the fact that, whenever I wear shoes with laces, I'm always having to retie the darn things. But what is so good about shoelaces, and buttons and snaps and zippers? Velcro is state of the art. Wouldn't life be a lot easier if every single item of our apparel opened and closed through that magic?

The Post-It note is an example of an invention we didn't know we needed until we had it and now can't do without. It has reached its full potential. Velcro is an invention that is yet to be fully exploited. Come on, you entrepreneurs, push that Velcro envelope. I don't know how many million happy customers you'll have, but I'll be your first one.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled controversy.