Isn’t it wonderful that nowadays, elastic textiles, snaps and zippers make dressing and undressing a casual, time-saving affair. It also has something liberating: women of earlier generations still needed dressing aids to tie the corsets or to fasten the hooks and many buttons of a dress on the back.
From the fur fastener with animal tendons and bones to the zipper, mankind has not only come a long way culturally, but also technically. It is no coincidence that the first prototype was invented in the middle of the 19th century – i.e. at the beginning of the industrial revolution – when time suddenly became money. The American machine builder Elias Howe applied for a patent in 1851 for his “automatic, uninterrupted clothing fastener”, which was not yet ready for the market.
Inventor Whitcomb Judson developed the idea further and presented his “clasp locker”, a boot opener, at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. But it was the Swede Gideon Sundbäck who presented a practicable zipper in 1909, which no longer consisted of beads and clamping jaws, but of ribs and grooves.
The world’s first zipper was mass-produced under the RiRi brand in Wuppertal. The triumph of the zip or zip fastener took its course. It soon found itself wherever something had to be closed – whether it was anoraks, trousers, shoes, bags, tents or bed linen.
In “Live and Let Die” James Bond unzips the zipper with a magnet
But what use is all this if the zipper gets stuck? If the slide or slider, that’s the name of the little thing that should go up and down to open and close the teeth, jams? You can’t get it off your body in real life as easily as James Bond opens the Bond girl’s dress with a strong magnet in “Live and Let Die”.
The zipper sometimes gets stuck, for example if it has not been moved for a long time or if the metal of metal fasteners has corroded. Unfortunately, Bond’s inventor Q didn’t invent a miracle weapon for such everyday situations. It’s also not necessary, because a remedy for many situations in life – from squeaky door hinges to rusted mechanical parts – is gun oil. Better known as universal oil. Simply spray the slider and gently move it back and forth. This is how you get the sled going again.
The neutral smelling silicone oil has a similar effect. It can be used on metal and plastic alike. And if you prefer it natural, you can use candle wax, beeswax or soap. Simply rub a little of the soap bar or candle onto the hooks and then carefully start moving the carriage.
A special case is when the fabric of the garment becomes wedged with the slider. This happens when the zippers are worn out and also when the zipper is opened and closed too frantically. Then it only takes a little patience, sure instinct and a needle to loosen the wedged zipper. Then carefully press the slide together. This works even without an engineering degree.
The author has her own way of avoiding snagged zippers: she prefers dresses with buttons.
(Photo: Bernd Schifferdecker (Illustration))