New Ideas

GOODS & SERVICES

Walking through a patch of woods one day in 1948, a Swiss named Georges de Mestral wondered what made burrs stick to his clothes, took some home to find out why. De Mestral not only found out the burrs' secret; he duplicated it with a nylon fastener that seems fair to make major changes in the U.S. garment industry.

The nonmetallic, zipperlike fastener is called Velcro, consists of two strips of fabric, one with thousands of tiny nylon hooks, the other with thousands of equally tiny nylon loops. When the strips are pressed together, hooks catch loops and hold fast. When the strips are peeled apart, hook and loop easily disengage.

Velcro is not only jamless and washable, but can be manufactured in any width or color. This fall Velcro fasteners will appear on everything from women's mink sweater collars to men's slacks.

Other new products:

Tiny Portable. A six-transistor, one-battery portable radio that weighs half a pound and measures only 2 1/4 in. by 3 1/8 by if in.--slightly larger than a cigarette box--was put on sale in the U.S. by Japan's Hitachi, Ltd. Price: $40.

Tougher Steel. An alloy sheet steel that hardens in air instead of the usual salt or oil quenching baths and is six times tougher than automobile body metal was announced by U.S. Steel. Named Airsteel X-200, the steel was designed for rockets and missiles. It can be formed, welded, heated and cooled with less danger of distortion-producing stresses.

Flameproofing. A liquid flameproofing that is colorless, odorless and harmless to most fabrics' quality and color, but which withstands 1800DEG flame, was put on sale by the International Flameproofing Corp. of San Antonio. Price: $1.95.

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