Velcro was a Vulcan invention designed to hold fabrics and other surfaces together utilizing tiny hooks and loops.
Unknown at the time, this invention was introduced to Humans by T'Mir, a Vulcan stranded in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. T'Mir sold the invention to Big Creek Manufacturing and Sales Co. to raise funds to send Jack to college. Its real origin seemed to be unknown to Earth at least until the 22nd century. (ENT: "Carbon Creek")
Starfleet landing parties utilized velcro to attach equipment, such as hand phasers and communicators, to belts or their uniforms in the 2260s. (Star Trek: The Original Series)
In reality, Velcro was invented in 1941 (sixteen years prior to the events of "Carbon Creek") by George de Mestral, where Mestral's name came from. Interestingly, Star Trek was not the first show to say that Velcro was of alien origin: the 1997 movie Men in Black and the TV series The Powerpuff Girls also made such a claim.
External links[]
- Velcro at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Velcro at Wikipedia