National Zipper Day is on April 29 and we are full of zip for this day! We take many things in life for granted and the humble zipper is one of them. Have you ever paused to reflect on how zippers play a huge role in our daily lives? Zippers come in apparel, purses, boots, etc. and are incredibly useful.
While the first occurrence of National Zipper Day remains uncertain, there is actually quite an extensive history behind this device that has a whole day dedicated to it. It is believed that Elias Howe may have invented the first zipper and got a patent for what he called the “Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure” in the 1800s. However, neither did he market his product nor did he get any recognition for it.
In that same period, a “clasp locker” was introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair to fasten shoes. While it somewhat resembled Howe’s creation, it wasn’t the same and lost steam quickly. However, the company that manufactured it, the Universal Fastener Company, continued to be fully operational nonetheless.
A Swedish-American electrical engineer employed at Universal Fastener, Gideon Sundback, is credited with designing the modern zipper. He got the first patent for a “Hookless Fastener” on April 29, 1913, which was later developed into the “Separable Fastener”. It took a while to become popular as it was mostly a shoe fastener in the beginning after which the military started using the device during World War 1 for flying suits. Some manufacturers even used the device on tobacco pouches. Nevertheless, it was precisely a decade after this device received its first patent, that it would actually be called the ‘zipper’. The term was coined by B.F. Goodrich in 1923 because of the sound it made.
National Zipper Day helps to put the humble zipper back in the spotlight, even if just for one day.
