how burdock fruits inspired the invention of the hook and loop fastener
Hook and loop fastener The original hook-and-loop fastener was conceived in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral.[1][2][3] The idea came to him one day after returning from a hunting trip with his dog in the Alps. He took a close look at the burrs (seeds) of burdock that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur. He examined them under a microscope, and noted their hundreds of "hooks" that caught on anything with a loop, such as clothing, animal fur, or hair.[4] He saw the possibility of binding two materials reversibly in a simple fashion if he could figure out how to duplicate the hooks and loops.[1][3] Hook and Loop is viewed by some like Steven Vogel[5] or Werner Nachtigall[6] as a key example of inspiration from nature or the copying of nature's mechanisms (called bionics or biomimesis).
Cashew The fruit of the cashew tree is an accessory fruit (sometimes called a pseudocarp or false fruit).[1] What appears to be the fruit is an oval or pear-shaped structure, a hypocarpium, that develops from the pedicel and the receptacle of the cashew flower.[5] Called the cashew apple, better known in Central America as marañón, it ripens into a yellow and/or red structure about 5–11 cm (2.0–4.3 in) long. It is edible and has a strong "sweet" smell and a sweet taste. The pulp of the cashew apple is very juicy, but the skin is fragile, making it unsuitable for transport. In Latin America, a fruit drink is made from the cashew apple pulp which has a very refreshing taste and tropical flavor that can be described as having notes of mango, raw green pepper, and just a little hint of grapefruit-like citrus.