What is Zipper?
[[File:Zipper.jpg|thumb|A zipper]] ''This article is about the fastening device called the'' zip. ''For information on the acronym [[ZIP]], please see that article.'' ---- [[File:YKK Zipper on Jeans close up.jpg|thumb|A zipper on a pair of [[Jeans]].]] A '''zipper''' ('''zip fastener''' or '''zip''' in [[British English]]) is a device for temporarily joining two edges of [[fabric]] together. It is widely used in clothing and other textiles. ==Description== The bulk of a zip consists of two strips of fabric tape, one permanently fixed to each of the two flaps to be joined, and each carrying tens or hundreds of specially shaped metal or [[plastic]] teeth. Another part, the slider, which is operated by hand, rides up and down the two sets of teeth. Inside the slider is a Y-shaped channel that pushes the opposing sets of teeth together or apart, depending on the slider's direction of travel. The zip is usually fitted vertically in clothing so that pushing the slider from top to bottom opens it, and pushing it from bottom to top closes it. If the slider got lose then the [https://technojunaid.com/how-to-fix-a-zipper-that-separates/ zipper becomes non-functinal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228174126/https://technojunaid.com/how-to-fix-a-zipper-that-separates/ |date=2022-12-28 }} and needs to fix it .The friction of the slider against the teeth causes a characteristic buzzing noise which is probably the origin of the name ''zip''. ==History== An early device similar to the zip, 'an Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure', was patented in the USA by [[Elias Howe]] in [[1851]], but did not reach the market. [[Whitcomb Judson]] patented a similar 'Clasp Locker', for fastening [[shoe]]s, in [[1891]] or [[1893]], and marketed the invention through his 'Universal Fastener' company. These two designs used hooks and eyes. The design used today, based on interlocking teeth, was invented by an employee of Judson's, [[Sweden|Swedish]] scientist [[Gideon Sundback]], in [[1913]] as the 'Hookless Fas