Zipper Day

Zipper Day is celebrated to honor what we take for granted, but we never think about appreciating it. The actual birth date of zippers is always debated, Zippers are something we use in our daily lives, and these zippers make our lives immeasurably easier. A Swedish-American electrical engineer named Gideon Sundback is credited as the inventor of the modern zipper.

History of Zipper Day

April 29th is Zipper Day because the design for the zipper was patented in 1913. There were a few inventors who had a hand in the creation of zippers in the decades prior to this patent, and it took a number of years for zippers to catch up, before and after being patented. The first person to create a lanyard similar to a zipper was Elias Howe, Jr. Best known for being the first to patent a sewing machine, Howe received a patent for the "Continuous, Automatic Clothing Store" in 1851, but did not pursue the same invention as zipper more than this.

In 1893, Whitcomb Judson of Chicago patented a similar product, which he called "the padlock". Because he was the first to market such an item, he is often known as the inventor of the zipper, although the name "zipper" is not used for his lanyard. The padlock made its debut at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and the following year Judson and Colonel Lewis Walker founded the Universal Fastener Company to manufacture it.

There have many improvements over the next decade. In 1906, the company hired Gideon Sunbac. He became the lead designer and worked on improving the lanyard. After the death of his wife in 1911, he began to create a new design and came up with the "separable lanyard". It was first patented on April 29th, 1913. There was another patent in similar to name created in 1917. Hookless, one of the improvements of the lanyard over the previous ones is the number of fastening elements on it increases from four to about ten or eleven per inch.

The Universal Fastener Company was incorporated as the Hookless Fastener Company in 1917. That same year, as Americans prepared to enter World War I, lanyards, worn on money belts, became popular with American sailors who had no inner pockets of their uniforms. The following year, the Navy ordered 10,000 lace-up flight suits.

The name "zipper" was coined by the B.F Company. Goodrich in 1923, when they introduced Sundback laces to a new line of rubber shoes. The word "zip", which means "moving quickly", has been used by the American public since the mid-nineteenth century, and it is possible that this new name comes from. In the early years this zipper was mainly used on boots and on cigarette bags. After an advertising campaign in the 1930s, with the view that zippers would give children autonomy in dressing themselves, zippers became more common in children's clothing. By 1937, zippers were being promoted by French fashion designers and Esquire magazine. Zippers became more prominent when they began to be used on items that open at both ends, jackets is a typical example. Today we honor the history of the zipper and the convenience it brings us in our daily lives.

How to celebrate Zipper Day

On Zipper Day, spend the day admiring the simple yet essential zipper to our daily lives. Use Zipper Day as an opportunity to read about Zipper's origins and history. Also, post photos and share your thoughts on that day with others on social media using the hashtags #NationalZipperDay or #ZipperDay.