Living · 6 pages · 12 min
How a zipper is a pair of locks
A zipper is two rows of shaped teeth that a slider forces to mesh and then to unlock.
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From the opening
A zipper is a pair of locks running along an opening. Each tooth is shaped to sit among its neighbors on the opposite tape, and the slider is a moving wedge that either meshes those teeth or pries them apart. The opening covers teeth are shaped to nest, the slider sets the angle, and a bent tooth breaks the sequence.
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Inside
- Teeth are shaped to nest
- The slider sets the angle
- A bent tooth breaks the sequence
- The bottom pin starts a separable row
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- The slide fastener and meshing teeth
- Sundback's development of the modern zipper