VELCRO® Brand products are some of the most well-known products across the world. In 1941, George de Mestral invented the hook and loop product after encountering a burdock burr while walking his dog in the Swiss Alps. A burdock burr is a tiny seed covered in hundreds of “hooks” that naturally catch onto the microscopic loops that cover clothing, hair and fur. Today VELCRO® products are used across a wide range of industries and applications including, healthcare, military, NASA (to keep their dinner plates from floating away in zero gravity space) and in your garage.