Zipper

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Hoboken, New Jersey is well known as the hometown of Frank Sinatra — but it's also the home of a man who few have heard of, but who invented something we each use every day.

Gideon Sundbach patented the zipper on this day in 1913.

He called his invention the "separable rubber boots, but in 1930, fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli became the first to use them on clothing.

Today, the zipper, along with another fastener, Velcro, are a vital part of the apparel industry.

In the U.S., close to 600-thousand people make clothing, worth 63-billion dollars each year.