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2.1.1. BID WOW!

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The natural world can be a promising source of inspiration for technological innovation.

Examine this natural object:

What is it? Dried fruit/seed of the Burdock plant

Describe the structure: Seed with has hooks or teeth

What function do you think it performs? Attaches to passing animals

What is the mechanism: Attachment that allows the seed to disperse

Seeds of burdock plants must adhere to passing animals in order to disperse. They must

accomplish this in an uncertain climate (wet, dry, cold, hot) and attach to any number of

different kinds of animals (with different kinds of fur), each of which contact the burdock seeds

at various angles and speeds. In other words, the habitat conditions and context under which

burdock plant seeds must work are fairly challenging. As a consequence, burdock seeds use a

mechanism of attachment which is correspondingly effective—if they didn’t, burdock plants

would not have survived as a species.

Discussion

How does Velcro perform compared to other kinds of attachment mechanisms, e.g., buttons, snaps, zippers, buckles, etc.