Great Uses for Velcro You Never Thought of

Let's talk Velcro.  It's one of those amazing, all multipurpose products that we take for granted.  It just so happens that Velcro went on the market on this day in 1978.  The word Velcro comes from combining two French words: velours (meaning "velvet") and crochet (meaning "hook").

The idea for Velcro came about the same way many inventions do--an "Aha" moment took place back in 1941 when engineer, George de Mestra of Switzerland was.  He noticed how persistently the burrs of burdock stuck to his pants and his dog's furr after they came in from a hunting trip.  His goal was to duplicate that hooking effect and eventually he did by using nylon and patented his invention in 1955.  Velcro was the company that first marketed the product and now, it's a common household product used for all kinds of things.  In fact, you might be quite surprised at what you can use Velcro for.

Here are some great uses for Velcro:

Wrap up cords of any type to keep them neat. Great to keep computer cords in check.

Use around wrapping paper to keep it from unrolling.

Bundling things.

Use to support plant stems.

Use to hang window treatments.

Hang up and organize your tools

Velcro a flash light to a wall next to your bed so it's handy in a power outage.

Attach remote control to TV or side table so it's always within reach.

Use Velcro to hang up pictures on the walls since it keeps them in place.

Attach Velcro to outdoor furniture cushions so the stay put.

Keep your button down shirt or jacket from gaping open between the buttons. Or if a ladies blouse is too low, you can use Velcro to make the neckline higher.

Get rid of those annoying pills that end up on sweaters after they've been washed.

Use a small piece of Velcro on a pen or pencil and stick it on your desk or wherever you want to keep it handy. Also works great in a car on the dash. You could even Velcro a small note pad on the dash as well.

[en.wikipedia.org, Apartmenttherapy.com, curbly.com, realsimple.com]