The Miura Fold Is How You’d Fold a Map if You Were Awesome

In 1995, Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura designed a folding mechanism intended to deploying solar panels in space. The method, called the Miura fold or miura-ori, allows you to open and close a folded piece of paper—like a map—with one swift motion. It’s pretty like origami and useful like a fox.