the person who invented hook-and-loop was a scientist named george de mestral. during a hunting vacation in switzerland, de mestral came home one evening and tried to remove the burrs stuck to his dog's fur. he was very surprised to see how hard the burrs were to remove. that night he studied the burrs under a microscope and noticed that each burr was covered with hundreds of small hooks acting like grasping hands. de mestral decided that this burr could be made to close fabric instead of buttons and zippers. by copying the hook pattern hat he saw on burrs, he made hook-and-loop!