Burr in the fur


 

 

Since my dog Inca loves to roam through the undergrowth, I often find burrs embedded in her fur when we get home. I decided to inspect one of the burrs up close, and it was fascinating to see the tiny hooks that appear under magnification. The plant reproduces and distributes itself in this way - a passing animal brushes against the plant and the burr takes hold. A seed can be carried a long way before it works free and falls to the ground, hopefully in a place it can grow.
This clever adaptation of nature inspired something most of us use frequently - velcro. A Swiss engineer and mountaineer, George de Mestral, first thought to look closely at a burr in 1941. Noticing the hooks that fastened easily but not permanently to hair or cloth, he began to develop a product based on the idea. He patented Velcro in 1955.
Velcro is an example of a fascinating branch of study called "biomimicry" that involves creating solutions to human problems by imitating ideas found in nature. I was surprised as I googled this idea to find how many things there are that fit in this category! A few other examples of many I read about:
- the shape of "bullet trains" (very high speed) based on the beaks of Kingfisher birds
- "fins" on the blades of wind turbines that mimic the shapes of fins on humpback whales
- advanced body covering used by competitive swimmers modeled after the skin of sharks that reduces drag; also being used on the hulls of ships to increase efficiency
- shock absorber technology using principles found in the bone structure of woodpeckers
- water repellant sealants based on the chemical composiiton of leaves of the lotus flower
- placing UV reflective strands similar to spider webs inside glass window panes, that can be seen by birds and prevents them from flying into clear glass windows
- camoflage clothing that can change color based on its surroundings, modeled on how squids do the same
- a natural convection ventilation system for cooling buildings based on techniques used by termites in building their hills
It's marvelous to ponder the wonder of the world around us, and #GiveThanks for the miracles of creation, evolution, and adaptation!

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