What do you think of when you hear the word technology? Most people think of computers, cell phones, microwaves or cars. Yet an object does not have contain a motor or computer chip to qualify as a technology. We often take for granted many of the technologies that we use every day. Consider, for example, the zipper.

Before zippers came along, clothes and footwear were either laced up or held together by hooks and eyelets. According to Advertising in America what we know as the “zipper” was invented in 1893 by Whitcomb L. Judson. His design arranged hooks and eyes so that a slider could, with some difficulty, open and close them. With businessman Lewis Walker, Whitcomb formed the Universal Fastener Company and hired a young Swedish engineer, Gideon Sundback, to improve the original “clasp locker” design. In 1913 Sundback came up with a reliable zipper that he named the “hookless fastener.” Hookless fasteners gained popularity only after 1923, when the navy installed them on its flight suits and the B.F. Goodrich Company, which coined the term “zipper” began using them in boots.

To begin investigfating the impact of technology on our culture, we need to first become aware of the ordinary technologies that exist all around us and have been created to meet human needs. Beginning to see these technologies will help you respond to the key question of this project: How do technologies shape or define human activity? That is, how do technologies impact human life? Although we may not think much about the zipper, it is an innovation that has influenced the design and use of many products.

Posted: March 3rd, 2008 under daily notes.
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