Trivia: Which of these clothing innovations debuted at the World’s Fair in 1893?
Drawstring
Zipper
Fly
Velcro
The correct answer is Zipper
So why is this answer correct? : In 1851, the “automatic continuous clothing closure” was first patented by Elias Howe, but he never marketed it to the public. In 1893, Whitcomb L. Judson patented a “clasp locker” shoe fastener which was revealed at the Chicago fair, and in 1923, B. F. Goodrich officially renamed it the “zipper.” While there are plenty of stories of inventors getting to an idea first but failing to capitalize on it, that wasn’t Howe. Even though he missed on the zipper, he also invented the modern lockstitch sewing machine, which won a gold medal at the 1867 World’s Fair in Paris.