Dandelion and Velcro

Following on from my dandelion of yesterday, here is a burdock. Well actually I'm not sure it IS a burdock, but it is a burr.

Lovelupins17 reminded of that drink we used to enjoy years ago, "Dandelion and burdock". I can remember the pop-man used to call to deliver the soft drinks, (they were in a bottle with a stopper and a metal clip) and my favourite was indeed dandelion and burdock.

Without burrs, annoying though they are, (especially if you have dogs, and even more so if you have dogs with curly hair), we may not have had Velcro. A Swiss man in the 1940's wondered how the burrs attached themselves to him and his dog. He examined the burrs under a microscope, and noticed the little hooks which helped them to stick to passing animals to help to disperse the seeds. Using the same method, he went on to invent Velcro, which is now used for all sorts of things.