AUDIO: JAPAN DEVELOPING ON AUTOMATIC ZIPPER
Japanese company YKK is the world’s largest zipper manufacturer. Chances are, any zipper on your clothing right now says YKK on the pull tab. Anyway, YKK has developed a prototype self-propelled zipper. It’s a little gizmo, about 5-inches long, with a built-in motor and a spinning worm gear that winds its way through the zipper teeth on either side and pulls it closed behind it. The mechanized zipper will zip itself up at the push of a remote button. The next step will be to miniaturize the gadget.
* And make it waterproof.
* And put in an emergency stop in case it hits a blockage. You don’t want to zippity your doo-dah.
* And convince people to pay $30 more for an item of clothing with a robot zipper.
* Just wait until Russia figures out how to hack this.
CLIP: Oh, but America is ahead of the curve again – our classic “Venus Fly Clap” parody spot.
