Celebrate National Zipper Day Every April 29

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You probably use zippers several times a week, if not every day. But did you realize this useful little closure has its own day? That’s right, every April 29 we celebrate National Zipper Day.

Why? Probably because zippers are everywhere and make life easier in lots of little ways.

And the date is probably because a version of the modern zipper was patented on April 29, 1913.

But we haven’t been able to find out who started the day or when. Not that that should stop anyone from celebrating. If you find zippers useful, celebrate them!

 

A Bit of Zipper History

The man who invented the sewing machine, Elias Howe, may have invented the first zipper. At least he got a patent on an “Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure” in 1851. But he did nothing with it.

In 1893 Whitcomb Judson introduced a “Clasp Locker” to fasten shoes at the Chicago World’s Fair. It was similar to Howe’s creation, but not quite the same. And most people weren’t interested, so it went nowhere.

But the company Judson started to manufacture it, Universal Fastener Company, stayed in business. Eventually Giden Sundback, a Swedish-American electrical engineer working at Universal Fastener, designed the modern zipper. He got his first patent for a “Separable Fastener” on April 29, 1913. A modified version, closer to the modern zipper, was patented in 1917.

It took a while for this zipper to really catch on. At first it was mostly just a shoe fastener. Manufacturers also used it on tobacco pouches. Then the military started using the device during World War I for flying suits. This helped improve its popularity.

It took a few more years before it became called a zipper. The term was coined by B.F. Goodrich in 1923, apparently because of the sound it made.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday.

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Ideas For Celebrating National Zipper Day

With zippers all around us, it probably won’t be hard to find zippers to use on this day.

But why not take a step further?

Wear only clothes with zippers today. No buttons (the button closure on a pair of zip-fly pants is ok).

Use a purse with a zip closure. No clasps.

Have clothes or other items with broken zippers? Get ‘em fixed today! Or learn how to fix common problems yourself.

Then buy new zippers or zipper repair kits to get the job done!

Wear fun zipper clothes:

• Gold Zipper Wayfarer Sunglasses (The top of the frame looks like a zipper!)
• Zipper bangle bracelet
• Zippered swimsuit

 

And for a bit of zipper fun, check out the Google Doodle honoring Gideon Sundback from April 24, 2012.

 

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