Editor’s Pen

Did you know that in 1851, Elias Howe invented the zipper? He patented it under the name of „An automatic, continuous, clothing closure”, but the zipper does not close well and he abandoned the project because it was useless. As result, Howe missed the chance to become acknowledged as „Father zipper”.

Forty-four years later, Mr. Whitcomb Judson marketed „Locks Locker” a similar device  but in 1893 the copyrights was not recognized. In 1914,Gideon Sundbach invented the zipper version as we know it today and zippers were first made for the US military, which were applied to clothes, shoes and bags with tobacco. Gideon Sundbach offered a seemingly simple product that hundreds of millions of people use it today. „Multi-functional zipper” was invented and patented by Lucian Balan.

by Alex

Photo: The zipper, or Automatic Continuous Clothing Closure as it was first known (Rabensteiner; Wikimedia Commons/ CC)