Velcro was invented by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in 1948 and has had applications on this planet, and beyond!
Right here on Planet Earth, it has been used to hold together a human heart during the first artificial heart surgery. It’s also used in nuclear power plants and army tanks to hold flashlights to walls. It’s an integral part of the game tag rugby and without it on surfboard leaches surfers would drift off into sea.
NASA however, has stretched the limits of Velcro. Each space shuttle has ten thousand inches of special Velcro made of Teflon loops, polyester hooks, and glass backing. In the nearly weightless conditions of orbit, Velcro is used to keep objects from floating away. And when astronauts get a little itch on their nose, they scratch it on a little patch of Velcro inside their helmet!
It’s safe to say that Velcro is an invention that’s really stuck!