Making A Giant Zipper To Explain How They Work

Gideon Sundback's 1914 design

Gideon Sundback's 1914 design is still the standard. His invention was so good, it has barely changed in over a century. The key is a Y-shaped cavity in the slider that precisely guides teeth together, and a wedge that separates them.

• 🌐 The modern zipper's core design, with interlocking teeth and a slider, was patented by Gideon Sundback in 1914.
• ⚙️ The slider's Y-shaped cavity tilts the teeth to align them, while a wedge separates them when unzipping.
• 🧵 Coil zippers, made of a single plastic piece, are now the most common type globally, used for flexibility.
• 🔒 A locking mechanism, often a small pin, can prevent zippers from unzipping on their own.
• 🏭 YKK, founded in 1934, now dominates the global zipper market, surpassing Talon by emphasizing quality and efficient manufacturing.

A person's hands holding a large blue zipper pull tab over a giant blue zipper mechanism, with the word "Genius" overlaid.