Why do most zippers say "YKK"?
on the pull-tab?
为什么大多数拉链上都刻着“YKK”？
乍一看，这三个字母好像有点眼熟哎……
低头一看，果然！随手拍一张今天穿的牛仔裤拉链图：
那这个字样代表了什么呢？
原来，YKK is a huge company that makes zippers! YKK就是一家生产拉链的公司，最喜欢把自己公司的名字刻在生产出来的每一个拉链上……
关于拉链的趣事儿还挺多，让我们一起来看看吧！
Here is a bit of zipper history. The "clasp locker" as it was called, was invented in 1891 by Whitcomb L. Judson.?
先来给大家讲一讲关于拉链的那些历史吧！1891年，一个叫惠特科姆 · 贾德森的男人，发明了“卡环扣”。
The clasp locker was an assemblage of hooks and eyes that Judson thought would save people time and sore backs fastening their shoes with one hand.?
这个卡环扣主要是由一个个的小钩子和扣眼组成的，贾德森认为这样不仅可以节省人们的时间，还可以让人们仅仅用一只手就可以系鞋带。
Later, in 1913, Gideon Sundback of Sweden developed the predecessor of today"s zipper that used metal teeth, and patented it in 1917. Sundback"s design was the first design that saw practical use. Sundback"s "separable fastener" had more fasteners per inch than the earlier clasp locker.?
而在后来的1913年，瑞典人吉迪恩·桑德巴克发明了今天我们使用的金属齿拉链的前身，并于1917年申请了专利。桑德巴克的设计，是第一个看到了拉链的实际用途的设计。他的“可分扣式”的锁扣设计，让每英寸的扣件比之前的卡环扣更多。?
Later, the B.F. Goodrich Co. used the separable fastener in some rubber boots and came up with the name "zipper" because the boots could be fastened with one hand. Today, zippers are also made of plastic as well.
再后来，B.F.古德里奇公司在一些胶靴中使用了这些可分扣式锁扣，并想出了“拉链”这个名字，因为这些靴子可以只用一只手就能够扣好。今天，拉链也可以由塑料制成。
Founded in Japan in 1934, YKK was called Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha, but 60 years later the company changed its company name to match its brand name.?
The privately held YKK Co. is headquartered in Japan and is made up of 80 companies at 206 facilities in 52 countries. YKK makes the entire zipper including the dyed cloth and the brass used to make the zipper.
1934年，吉田光久株式会社在日本成立了（英文名首字母缩写为YKK），而60年后，这家公司就直接将公司名改成了品牌名称。这家私营企业的总部设在日本，是由分布在52个国家的80家公司、206间工厂共同组成的。YKK承包了整个拉链行业的业务，包括染色的布料以及用来做拉链的黄铜。
YKK zippers are found in: Clothing, Furniture, Automobiles, Luggage, Sports equipment...
你可以在很多地方找到YKK拉链的踪影：各类服装，家具，汽车，行李箱，运动器材……
A YKK factory site in Macon, Ga., produces 7 million zippers a day, in a total of 1,500 styles in more than 427 standard colors. It"s the largest zipper factory in the world. The Macon site produces its own brass to make the teeth and slider parts of a zipper.?
The same factory also produces and dyes the yarn that is woven into the fabric portion of a zipper. And YKK also produces the machines that make the zippers!?
YKK公司的其中一个工厂，位于佐治亚州梅肯。这家公司每天生产700万个拉链，共有1500种款式，超过427多种标准颜色。它也是世界上最大的拉链工厂。梅肯公司也生产自己独有的黄铜，用来制造拉链齿和拉链滑块的部分。这家工厂还生产拉链面料部分的纱线部分，并且给他们染色。YKK甚至还生产拉链机（也就是说，他们不仅卖拉链，还卖制造拉链的机器）！
YKK has leveraged its knowledge of working with metals to form an aluminum building products division that now accounts for two-thirds of YKK"s worldwide sales.
YKK利用其与金属打交道以来的各种知识与资源，成立了一个铝建筑产品部门，目前已经占据了YKK全球销售额的三分之二。
