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How Velcro Helped Hold the Apollo 11 Mission Together

From your baby's diapers to your tool shed, most Americans have grown up using the same product that helped American astronauts make it to the moon: Velcro.

When Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon it was a giant leap for the little-known brand. Today, Velcro is a household name.

CEO Bob Woodruff is reminding the world how the hook and loop fastener helped Apollo 11 complete its mission.

"There was about 3,300-square inches of Velcro hook and loop throughout the command module. It held the gloves on, it held their shoes on, it held the watch on and it was on the holding portions of the air tank to the back of the spacesuit," Woodruff said.

Years before Velcro made it to the moon, the inspiration for the idea came from nature when a Swiss scientist found burrs tangled in his dog's fur.

"He looked at them under a microscope and he noticed that on the burrs there was a little bit of a hook at the end of each barb and it stuck to the fur," Woodruff explained.

From there, the sky was the limit for the brand. In the decades since the moon landings, Velcro has made its way into multiple household products. Securing baby diapers is its number one consumer use today.

"The closure mechanism in the diaper is pretty innovative. We are always looking to make it softer and thinner," Woodruff said.

Fifty years after that first moonwalk, Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit just returned for display at the Smithsonian with those Velcro strips sharing the spotlight.

Other Apollo stories to check out:

How WFMY News 2 Brought the Apollo 11 Launch into Triad Homes 50 Years Ago

WATCH: Apollo 11 rocket and anniversary show projected on Washington Monument

VERIFY: 50 years after the moon landing new conspiracies are still popping up

50 Years Ago: The American Flag On The Moon Was Made In NC

Nixon's phone call to the moon caught the Apollo 11 astronauts off guard

'In Event of Moon Disaster': Nixon’s speech if Apollo 11 astronauts did not return

Neil Armstrong and An 'Oklahoma Farm Girl' - Their Journey Around the World

Apollo 11 at 50: Celebrating first steps on another world

 11 fascinating numbers about Apollo 11

Debunking the moon landing hoax theories

Notable quotes from the Apollo 11 moon landing

Armstrong's famous 'One small step' included something most people didn't hear

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