April 29th: Zipper Day

Zipper Day: The modern zip fastener was patented on this date in 1913. Here are 10 things you may not know about the humble zip fastener.

1. The first forerunner of the zip was the "Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure". patented by Elias Howe (who also invented the Sewing machine) in 1851. It had the same function, but looked rather different, consisting of clasps pulled together by pulling a string. Howe didn't realise the full potential of his idea and so didn't bother marketing it.
2. Around the turn of the century, Whitcomb L. Judson (who also invented the 'Pneumatic Street Railway') devised another version known as the “Clasp Locker or Unlocker for Shoes.” It was a device to join and close the clasps on a shoe, and then taken off when not in use. It was time consuming and difficult to produce, so it didn't take off, either.
3. The zip as we know it was invented by Gideon Sundback. After his wife died in 1911, he buried himself in his work and two years later he had perfected his design.
4. His name for it was the "separable fastener."
5. B.F. Goodrich, (which used the product for boots and galoshes in the 1920’s), came up with the name zip, or zipper, after the sound it made.
6. Zips were not used on clothing for a long time - clothing manufacturers at the time preferred to stick to tried and trusted components. It was mainly used, at first, for fastening boots and tobacco pouches.
7. Zips first took off as fasteners for clothes in the 1930s, when they were used in children's clothes. They were promoted as making it easy for young children to dress themselves.
8. In 1937, zips made a breakthrough as French designers started using them in men's trousers. In that year they beat buttons in "the battle of the fly". Esquire magazine raved about this "Newest Tailoring Idea for Men" which, among other things would prevent "The Possibility of Unintentional and Embarrassing Disarray," or, as we would say today, a wardrobe malfunction!
9. Many zip fasteners have a tiny pin in the handle, which slides between the teeth when the handle is folded down. This is to stop the zip from coming undone.
10. NASA developed airtight zips for space suits.