V Things We Appreciate
The Velvet Hook
After an enjoyable walk in the woods with his dog, George
de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, found
dozens of cockleburs firmly attached to his pants and in the fur of his dog.
Curiosity led the engineer to his microscope where an idea began to form.
Fourteen years of trial and error later, Mestral
had perfected a way to replicate the sticky power of burrs and patented it
(1956) under the name of Velcro, a combination of two French words: Velour (velvet)
and Crochet (hook) nylon sewn under infrared light– Who knew?
A Vignette:
It was right after Violet watched Gregory Peck ride off with
Audrey Hepburn at the helm of a zippy little scooter through the cobblestone
streets of Rome, that
she, Violet, decided to dust off that Vintage Vespa she had in the garage and go somewhere.
Anywhere would do, Anywhere besides her own Veranda with a View she’d somehow lost
interest in.
She’d read in the Sunday paper of a singing Vaquero
who entertained patrons at the Farmer’s Market. It seemed as good a destination
as any. With a burst of renewed Vitality, Violet donned her finest Victorian blouse, swallowed a shot of Vermouth
and sped down the hill toward the market.
Approaching a large display of Vegetables at a Velocity that
sent patrons scrambling for safety, Violet
recalled something of Vital importance: her brakes hadn’t worked in
years.
Happy V Day!
Any
thoughts? Can you add to the list of things we appreciate that begin with the
letter V?
Hi, diedre!
ReplyDeleteYour "V" vignette was written with Virtuosity, dear friend! Your character Violet reminds me of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, the Vivacious fan favorite of Downton Abbey. The Vespa reminds me of the scooter Terry "The Toad" Fields was riding in the opening scene of the film American Graffiti. Seems Terry couldn't get his motor bike's brakes to work properly either.
My dad and I went on hikes every weekend for years and often came home with cockleburs on our clothes... and cow manure on our shoes. :) I enjoyed the history lesson about the invention of The Velvet Hook - Velcro. It is interesting that, just two days ago, you told us about the nonstick miracle of Teflon.
Thank you Very much, dear friend diedre, and have a Very nice day!
Hi Shady!
DeleteI appreciate the compliment, my friend! Your descriptions of Vespa adventures made me think of The Flying Nun for some reason...Fields, maybe?
I was impressed that Mr. Mestral came up with such an innovative idea while off-duty ;-) Whereas, you could say the accidental invention of Teflon was a windfall.
Thank you for stopping by, dear Shady!
A couple of years ago, my theme was portmanteaus (words made up of parts of other words) and my V entry was Velcro...
ReplyDeleteHi John!
DeleteThen you know that the word itself is made up of parts of other words! Sounds like an interesting theme. The only one I can come up with at the moment is Labradoodle ;-)
Thanks for your thoughts, John!
Hi Diedre ... vista and being a vegan or vegetarian - love the foods and mostly eat that way ... but will stay eating a range of fodder! Fun word - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHi Hilary!
DeleteCheers to eating our very favorites!