Comments on: VELCRO: The Humble Origins of the Greatest Thing to Ever Happen to My Sneakers

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:45:15 +0000

Ahhhh, linked to Yahoo front page, that explains the idiot comments.

By: loremaster

loremaster — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:36:30 +0000

47GhostWriter, the plant referred to is cocklebur, which is the correct spelling.

By: somedude

somedude — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:55:15 +0000

To iarah…Robert Kiyosaki is the author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and in 1977 started a company that brought the first nylon and Velcro “surfer wallets” to market. He didn’t invent Velcro, just found a different way to use it. A little research would reveal this.

By: Dr.A.Jagadeesh

Dr.A.Jagadeesh — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:54:57 +0000

Bionics (also known as biomimetics, biognosis, biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering) is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. Examples of bionics in engineering include the hulls of boats imitating the thick skin of dolphins; sonar, radar, and medical ultrasound imaging imitating the echolocation of bats.
In the field of computer science, the study of bionics has produced artificial neurons, artificial neural networks, and swarm intelligence. Evolutionary computation was also motivated by bionics ideas but it took the idea further by simulating evolution in silico and producing well-optimized solutions that had never appeared in nature.

While velcro is the most famous example of biomimetics there are others like:
•Some paints and roof tiles have been engineered to be self-cleaning by copying the mechanism from the Nelumbo lotus.
•Nanostructures and physical mechanisms that produce the shining color of butterfly wings were reproduced in silico by Greg Parker, professor of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton and research student Luca Plattner in the field of photonics, which is electronics using photons as the information carrier instead of electrons.
•Neuromorphic chips, silicon retinae or cochleae, has wiring that is modelled after real neural networks. S.a.: connectivity
•Synthetic or “robotic” vegetation, which aids in conservation and restoration, are machines designed to mimic many of the functions of living vegetation.
•Cat’s eye reflectors were invented by Percy Shaw in 1935 after studying the mechanism of cat eyes. He had found that cats had a system of reflecting cells, known as tapetum lucidum, which was capable of reflecting the tiniest bit of light.
•Leonardo da Vinci’s flying machines and ships are early examples of drawing from nature in engineering.
•Julian Vincent drew from the study of pinecones when he developed in 2004 “smart” clothing that adapts to changing temperatures. “I wanted a nonliving system which would respond to changes in moisture by changing shape”, he said. “There are several such systems in plants, but most are very small — the pinecone is the largest and therefore the easiest to work on”. Pinecones respond to warmer temperatures by opening their scales (to disperse their seeds). The smart fabric does the same thing, opening up when it is warm, and shutting tight when cold.

By: Derrick

Derrick — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:52:23 +0000

I agree with Ted. i’d like to also add this simple question: When you correct someone on their article, do you think they’re really going to say “oops! my bad..” and then use their magic backspace button and fix it? Let it go….they wrote an article….with substance. you, well….you have no life.
go play in traffic.

By: Kelly J

Kelly J — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:46:17 +0000

wm- don’t worry, it’s not my biggest issue in life or anything- just the sound I most hate.

Dank- cotton balls ripping apart is I guess… I dunno, like a weird soft noise… it doesn’t bother me though. Next time you use a cotton ball try it, it makes soft of a pfft noise (like a little burst of air… not like a fart though… urg, hard to explain!)

I guess sounds really just are specific to people whether they will like them or not!

By: Tomkat

Tomkat — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:23:14 +0000

Velcro is actually used in song. Listen to the opening bars of The Clash’s “Guns of Brixton” you can hear the tearing sound of Velcro set to music.

By: Ted

Ted — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:06:16 +0000

I’m no spelling whiz, but I believe ‘bur’ and ‘burr’ are both correct (thefreedictionary.com/bur).

Who comments on a post and incorrectly claims something is spelled wrong? What’s the matter with people?

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:58:09 +0000

I LOVE the sound of Velcro and also hook and loop! That stuff is so handy for anything. I remember watching David Letterman back in the 1980’s and he had a suit cover in the stuff. He jumped off a trampoline and stuck to a wall about 3-4 feet off the floor. Too funny ;-)

By: iarah

iarah — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:56:23 +0000

Is it true? Velcro was invented by Robert Kiyosaki (US) and he had it manufactured but he failed to patent it? And that somebody grabbed the intellectual property right? So it was the Velcro company, huh…. Which story is true?