The Zipper's Quiet Engineering

A zipper binds two edges of fabric using interlocking teeth.

The slider contains a Y-shaped channel that meshes the elements.

Whitcomb L. Judson patented the original clasp locker in 1893.

Gideon Sundbäck received the Separable Fastener patent in 1917.

Sundbäck increased the fastening elements to ten per inch.

Sundbäck also created the manufacturing machine for the device.

The B. F. Goodrich Company named the fastener zipper in 1923.

Schott NYC began using zippers on leather jackets in 1925.

Coil zippers form the bulk of worldwide sales today.

Metal zippers use individual pieces of brass, aluminium or nickel.

Invisible zippers hide the teeth behind a matching tape.

A worn slider fails to align the alternating teeth properly.

Water resistant zippers use a reverse coil with PVC coating.

The word zipper is onomatopoetic, mimicking the high-pitched zip sound.