A friend and I have a bet on who invented the brassiere. I say it was invented in France, while my friend says Howard Hughes is responsible. - Ed, Northglenn
Bras in one form or another have been around for centuries, including early varieties designed to flatten the breasts and even earlier ones intended to expose them. In the 19th century, several devices were invented to support the breasts, many of them variations on the corset, but most were uncomfortable or impractical.
As the inventor of the modern bra, experts point to Frenchwoman Herminie Cadolle in 1889, whose innovation was that the support came from the shoulders instead of from below, and New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob, who received a patent for the "backless brassiere" in 1914. Cadolle's invention was marketed as a health aid, while Jacob's was born of necessity: She was dressing for a party and realized that a whalebone corset wouldn't look good under her sheer evening gown. So she and her French maid fabricated a bra from handkerchiefs and ribbon, and took orders for her creation that very evening, though she later sold the patent for a mere $1,500, according to inventors.about.com.
Howard Hughes' role in bra history was to design a high-tech version for actress Jane Russell for his 1943 film The Outlaw. And no, contrary to the urban legend triggered by humorist Wallace Reyburn's 1971 satire Bust-Up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling and the Development of the Bra, the undergarment was not invented by Otto.
Have a stumper? Call the Wacky Questions Research Center,
303-892-5225, or e-mail rudeenm@RockyMountainNews.com.
Wacky Questions appears Monday through Friday.
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