How was hook and loop invented?

In 1948, a Swiss mountaineer named George de Mestral was walking through the woods and was very frustrated by the burs that clung to his clothes. While picking them off, he realized that it may be possible to use this principle to make a fastener to compete with the zipper. Everyone laughed at him, except for a weaver at a textile plant in France. Together, they designed what they called "locking tape". It was made from cotton. The biggest problem that they faced was mass producing it. Sophisticated equipment was needed. He searched for a solution. Accidentally, de Mestral discovered that nylon, when sewn under infrared light, formed indestructible hooks, and the design was finished. Next problem - the name. Somehow 'hookless fastener' or 'locking tape' did not seem right. If I were there, I would have suggested a name like 'man made bur tape that sticks to the other side and fasteners. By the end of the 1950's, textile looms were churning out sixty million yards of this stuff a year. Just think how much they make today.