U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for April 29

WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

THURSDAY, APRIL 29: ZIPPER INVENTED

Profile America -- Thursday, April 29th.  You may know that Hoboken, New Jersey, is the hometown of Frank Sinatra.  But you probably don't know that's it's also the home of Gideon Sundback, who received a patent on this date in 1913 for something we all use every day.  He called it the "separable fastener," but it was soon named the "zipper."  For years, they were used just on rubber boots, but designer Elsa Schiaparelli used them on her 1930 fashions, and today they are universal.  Along with velcro, zippers are a vital part of the apparel industry.  Across the U.S. there are 153,000 clothing stores, and they sell $123 billion worth of women's, men's, and children's clothing each year.  Profile America is completing its 13th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  

Chase's Calendar of Events 2010, p. 247

2002 Economic Census, NAICS 4481

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau