We zip our jeans, jackets, boots and bags without a moment’s thought. The humble zipper, that tiny row of interlocking teeth, is an invention we use every day—and just as often take for granted. But ...

If you look closely at the zipper on your pants right now, odds are that it has 3 letters engraved on the tab: "YKK." Those aren't the initials of the inventor of the zipper — his name was Whitcomb L.