Ask Mike: Who invented the zipper?
Hey Guys,
We all can’t agree on styles, but I suspect everybody has at least one fashion accessory in common: a YKK zipper. I recently did an inventory on my own pants (it’s an exciting life I lead) and found that a great majority of zippers bear this mysterious logo. “What does it mean,” I shouted into the deep recesses of my closet. “YKK — reveal thyself!”
The zipper gods were unresponsive, but a quick Yahoo! search revealed the answer. YKK is a Japanese company that makes a slew of products, though zippers are what the company is best known for.
According to the company’s official site, “YKK was founded in Japan as a zipper manufacturing company in 1934 by Tadao (pronounced in English as Tah-dah-o) Yoshida. In the early years, Mr. Yoshida’s company carried his name; it was called Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha–or ‘YKK’ for short.”
As for who invented the zipper, not everybody agrees. Most people give credit to American Whitcomb Judson. Originally, Judson intended his creation, which he called the “clasp-locker,” as a replacement for shoelaces. It didn’t quite manage to do that, but, after a series of refinements (it jammed quite a bit early on), the zipper became a hit. The US Army was an early adopter, applying “zippers to the clothing and gear of the troops of World War I.”
So, that’s the history of the zipper. As for who invented Velcro, that’s another story.
Thanks for reading,
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Whitcomb Judson made a precursor to the zipper. Before him, Elias Howe held a patent for a zipper-like device as well. Credit for invention of the modern zipper, however, is usually given to Gideon Sundback.
umm well it was oringally made during civil war when soldiers pant started slipping of so they created a zipper
seventy five percent of that had nothing to do with who invented the zipper.
Who cares about who made it? Who is going to repair it when it breaks? How many zippers have failed you?
I’ve personally had a few, and its quite annoying when they either get stuck on them self, or some of the cloth from the jackets get caught in the zipper due to bad design.
Especially when it comes to jeans with a zipper.. For one, they usually zip down on inconvenient times, and they often get stuck at the bottom.
Conclusion? Buy with buttons, buttons of metal. Because they don’t break, even after years of usage!
Plastic zippers are especially useless, they break very easily!
How do you compare quality? I’ve heard China exports them and many major US companies pick them up at factories by the semi-load. I saw the clip on tv, actually. But this past Winter, I tried on EVERY style designer jacket at Younker’s, even the highest priced Columbia jackets had zippers that split from the bottom up. I found a decent jacket at Penny’s, and haven’t had any “splitting” problems. So, the jackets were all made in China–were the zippers from there, also? How many hundreds do we have to spend on a jacket or coat with a decent zipper? I think in North America we’d have a lot more money if we wove blankets from wool with holes for our heads and hoods. Think how long they’d last–we wouldn’t be spending $300 every yr or 2 on a cheap Chinese jacket with a cheap Chinese or Jap zipper that was NEVER made to last. Now they are so bad they don’t even last until you get out of the store.
The person who invented the zipper was, Leo Man dorky worky.
The truth!
The zipper was originally devised as a replacement for shoe buttons, which often required a special small hook in order to fasten them.
Quality has nothing to do with the price.
The prices are artificially upheld by companies with patents and other crap.
i love them so much becuse i was adopited when i was 4 yours old cusemy ather mom didnt yack care of. me but i like were i am at now .
i love them
I was pretty sure it was Benjamin Franklin Goodrich who invented the zipper. This article supports my belief:
http://www.winter-fashion.info/common/The_birth_of_the_zipper.php?language=en&countrycode=031&index=info-birth-zipper&austat=u
The first “zipper” was actually called the “clasp-locker” and the inventor is in disagreement between two brothers and a friend. It was developed in the eastern US and the date is unknown to me. Someone add to my post!
nice post . . . really made my day .
Velco comes from a teasel t natural plant that was use for teasing wool into strands. the hook and eye of the velcro come from that I believe it was a swedish invention
In 1893, Whitcomb L. Judson invented the zipper. YKK is the Japense company that makes the zippers. YKK stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha (yo shee da-ko gyo-kabu shiki ka isha).
Yep, and that is why the University of Akron in Ohio has the name the Akron Zips. BF Goodrich spent alot of time and talent in Akron.
Some Vietnamese guy.
Zipper or similar as zipper was first 2700 years ago by Athenian soldiers to stay dry in rain raining days
the material from a goats hear like to days kappa that is use by the farmers from the rain and extreme cold the sizes was 2 ½ feet with by 3 feet H. both ages have very small rings made from a animal skin and was connected by a thin flexible branch olive tree very flexible , same type that they use to capture bards and eat them . they slid the branch in batwing the rings and pout it over the heads to keep them dry. Later was rarefied and the 1800 Hundreds was perfected and today every one of as have one
Canadians invented the zipper….
I think this article should have included more information. He left out someone very Improtant and that is Elsa Schiaparelli. Schiaparelli is credited with having popularized it in cloths fashions in the 1930′s.
Here is some information on it, you have to scroll down some to get to her section as well as info about the zipper.
http://www.fashion-era.com/stylish_thirties.htm
Edward Zipper, of the zipper dynasty.
I was just about to ask that on Yahoo Answers! I’ve noticed that on all my zippers. That’s funny.
NES invented the zapper:
“The Zapper was first released in 1985 with the launch of the NES in North America. It came bundled with the NES console, the Robotic Operating Buddy and two games—Duck Hunt and Gyromite. The Zapper is used on supported NES games such as Duck Hunt and Wild Gunman.” – Source: Wikipedia
Hope this helps! Now you know who invented the zapper!
… Wait, what were we talking about? Your post was tl;dr so I had to guess a bit.
Talon Zipper was a company founded in 1893, originally as the Universal Fastener Company, in Chicago. They later moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, and finally to Meadville, Pennsylvania. It was in Meadville that the zipper as we know it was invented, until then they were producing hookless fasteners for boots and shoes. Here, the zipper was mass produced beginning in the 1920s.
Refering to an earlier comment, Buttons may not break, but they do fall off.
just checked my pants,Ykk approved
There is no one person who invented the zipper. It’s just a trend that evolved overtime.
There used to be a GREAT zipper company named Talon, but they went out of business. Now YKK rules and they jam OFTEN !
um why does every one care about all this stuff now days all u have to do is look it up happy easter though
YKK is the “industry standard” in zippers
Swedish-born (who later immigrated to Canada), Gideon Sundback, an electrical engineer, was hired to work for the Universal Fastener Company. Good design skills and a marriage to the plant-manager’s daughter Elvira Aronson led Sundback to the position of head designer at Universal. He was responsible for improving the far from perfect ‘Judson C-curity Fastener.’ Unfortunately, Sundback’s wife died in 1911. The grieving husband busied himself at the design table and by December of 1913, he had designed the modern zipper.
I heard a song called Canadian Please, and in it, they say they invented the zipper, so somebody in Canada
Whitcomb L. Judson invented the zipper