Zip-up furniture flies to DIY rescue

For years the zip has been the last refuge for the desperate Scrabble player with a rogue consonant to spare. But soon the humble fastener could be destined for a higher purpose, to rid the world of the curse of the weekend struggle with the flat-pack bookcase.

Instead of bashing the pieces together with growing fury and a large hammer, an inventor in Taiwan has patented the ingenious method of zip furniture. Demonstrations showed that a wardrobe with only six wooden boards and two metal corners can be fitted together in 44 ways, only eight of which produced the required result.

Enter Shih-Chang Wang from Taipei and his zips. But not just any zips, New Scientist magazine reports. Conventional ones would pull together the wooden and plastic pieces in kitchen units and cupboards since they need both sides flexible to enable the zip teeth to slide into each other.

Mr Wang's slider pushes the teeth on one strip into gaps in the other like jigsaw pieces coming together. It means the panels can be locked tightly with a single pull, saving time and anguish.

Ikea, the store that has done more for flat packs and rising blood pressure than any other, had no comment yesterday on Mr Wang's invention.