10 facts to perk you up on the bra's 100th anniversary

BRA SELLER.  DELHI.  

                                                BRA SELLING.  COONOOR.  NILGIRIS. 

If there is one undergarment that has spurred hatred over the years, it is the bra.

Monday marks the bra's 100th anniversary, On Nov. 3, 1914, Mary Phelps Jacob, also known as Caresse Crosby, obtained the first U.S. patent for thebackless brassiere. Although the term had been used for several years before her invention, Jacob's design is widely accepted as the birth of the modern bra.

SEE ALSO: Behold: The Tweeting Bra

After an entire century of twists and turns, it's no wonder the over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder is as perky as ever.

• 1.

  

  She sold her design to Warner Brothers Corset Company for $1,500 (roughly $21,000 today). Not a bad way for a Victorian lady to make a living.

  IMAGE: OUT OF MY TREE

• 2.

  

  In the 1970s, Lisa Lindahl and Polly Smith stitched two (presumably unused) jockstraps together to added support while exercising.

  IMAGE: MAEGAN TINTARI LOVE MAEGAN

• 3.

  

  Bras usually last around six to nine months. Less if you're only wearing the same one over and over again. We all have a favorite.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, GABRIEL WHITE

• 4.

  

  Anuban Bell and Sunee Whitworth were both struck by lightning that was conducted through their metal underwire.

  IMAGE: KARRIE NODALO

• 5.

  

  In 1983, the average size was a 34B. Now women's cups runneth over as sizes continue to increase.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, ALMOST MICHELLE

• 6.

  

  The book Dressed to Kill made the claim that bras inhibited "lymphatic drainage," which lead to cancer. Later scientific studies proved that was emphatically not true. It's okay, ladies, you don't need a medical excuse to go braless.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, SILKY SIDE

• 7.

  

  Curvy girls all over the world widely regarded this a bad decision.

  IMAGE: WIKIPEDIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

• 8.

  

  They came in scents like apple and grapefruit, which is way more refreshing than the more natural alternative.

  IMAGE: ETSY WOMENSSCARVESTREND

• 9.

  

  Public opinion of her was so poor that she needed them to protect herself. She left them and her 3,000 pairs of shoes behind when she fled the country.

  IMAGE: ETSY LONELYDEER

• 10.

  

  Although her design is much closer to the modern bra, she did not market it as well as Mary Phelps Jacobs, and is not credited as the inventor of the first bra. History belongs to the people who advertise the most.

  IMAGE: LUCY FISHER

http://mashable.com/2014/11/03/bra-facts/