Velcro

Plate 8A Burdock Plant	8B Hooked seed of Burdock seed

(Source:http://www.google.co.in/search?q=Burdock+plant&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=
isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ZZZUUJaQJ8PqrAe63oDICw&ved=0CB8QsAQ&
biw=1332&bih=581 ; Sept. 15, 2012)

Burdock Plant (plate 8A) in nature has similar characteristic that sticks to another surface and move from one place to another for germination. Usually Burdock seeds (plate 8B) are carried by animal. A Swiss engineer found the inspiration of inventing Velcro accidentally. “The hook-and-loop fastener was conceived in 1941 by Swiss engineer, Georges de Mestral who lived in Switzerland. The idea came to him one day after returning from a hunting trip with his dog in the Alps. He took a close look at the burrs (seeds) of burdock that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur. He examined them under a microscope, and noted their hundreds of "hooks" that caught on anything with a loop, such as clothing, animal fur, or hair. He saw the possibility of binding two materials reversibly in a simple fashion if he could figure out how to duplicate the hooks and loops.”
(Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velcro ; Sept. 15, 2012

Plate 9A Velcro	9B Shoe Strap	9C Watch Strap	9D Hand strap	9E Cover