Which experience led an engineer to invent Velcro?

Velcro, the "zipperless zipper" exist on a variety of products for children's shoes to laptop bags to blood pressure gauges to airplane flotation devices.

In 1948, a Swiss engineer and a amateur mountaineer George the Mestral went hiking in the woods with his dog. Upon arriving back at his home he took one of the burrs that clung to his clothes and he wondered if such an idea could be useful in commercial application.

He does led finding burrs stuck to his dog's fur.

In 1948, Swiss engineer/amateur mountaineer George de Mestral went hiking in the woods with his dog. When they arrived back home, George found burrs stuck to his dog's fur. This inspired him to create velcro.