In 1941, Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral took his dog for a walk. At some point, de Mestral became fascinated with the burrs that stuck to his dog’s fur. Nature is cool. The burrs had adapted to hitch a ride. De Mestral was more concerned with the “how” than the “why” of the situation, and he examined the burrs under a microscope. He studied the burrs for the next FOURTEEN YEARS before he was able to duplicate their tiny hook and loop design and introduce it to the world. De Mestral combine...