And now, it's time for Who's Smarted.
Psst, hey, smarty pants.
As you can hear from the music, I'm not in a very cool department store, in a not very cool mall.
But hey, the prices can't be beat.
Let's see, they got boxers, briefs, boxer briefs, super supportive ultra -compression butt -shaping man tights.
Yikes, not for me. Confession time, smarty pants.
You've caught me running an embarrassing errand.
That's right, I'm underwear shopping.
Well, it's actually not that embarrassing.
After all, we all wear underwear, but it is boring.
In fact, underwear shopping may possibly be one of the most boring things you can do.
Hey, who you calling boring?
Uh, hi there, talking pair of underwear.
That's right, a talking pair of underwear.
Looks like things just got a little less boring, am I right?
You're right, this is definitely a first for me and for Who's Smarted.
And believe me, I talk to everything.
Yeah, well you haven't lived until you've jawed with your drawers, or shared a snicker with your knickers, or jockeyed with your jockeys.
Or I think we get the point, Mr., do you have a name?
Of course I have a name, call me Whitey.
Hi Whitey, I'm the trusty narrator.
Oh, using adjectives, are we?
In that case, call me Tidy Whitey.
Okay, Tidy Whitey. Look, I just need to grab a couple of pairs of underwear and be on my way.
I really don't need this to turn into a whole production.
Of course, I do have lots of other nicknames too though.
Like Long Johns, Underoos, Jackie Shorts, Skivvies, Undergarments, Unmentionables.
Okay, okay, I get it.
There are lots of ways to talk about underwear.
But you know what, as much as we all wear some form of underwear, how much do you really know about it, smarty pants?
Like who invented underwear?
And what did the first pair of underwear actually look like?
And how has underwear evolved?
And why are there so many nicknames for a little piece of fabric you wear under your clothes?
Oh, you are in for a treat, my trusty narrator friend.
This little piece of fabric that covers your and your has quite a fascinating history.
Oh, in that case, it's time to grab your smarty underpants as we take another whiff of science and history on Who Smarted?
Who Smarted? Who Smart, is it you, is it me, is it science or history?
Listen up, everyone, we make smarty lots of fun.
On Who Smarted. Um, are we still in the mall?
Nope. Okay, then where are we, Whitey?
Look behind you. Oh, cool, the pyramids.
Wait, pyramids? Are we in Egypt?
Oh yeah, we're in Egypt, trusty.
Wonderful, but how did we get here?
And more importantly, what does Egypt have to do with underwear?
Well, since I'm a talking pair of underwear, you should just assume I have other powers.
And more importantly, you wanted to know what the first pair of underwear look like.
Wait, the first pair of undies is here?
Maybe not the actual first ever pair.
Those probably disintegrated long ago.
I hope so anyway, ugh.
But the earliest type of underwear was certainly here.
And that was known as?
Known as what, smarty pants?
Was it A, the under room?
B, the hidey pants?
Or C, the loincloth?
The answer is C, the loincloth.
Loincloth? Loincloth?
Why the loincloth? Well, because on a human, the loins are known as the part of body located under your rib cage and above your pelvis.
The less technical way to say it is, your private parts.
And a loincloth is a very simple piece of fabric that was worn by men and women.
It covers your front parts and sometimes your backside.
It's either just wrapped around itself and tied into place, or sometimes it has strings that tie around your waist.
Ah, so it's not really pants or shorts, it's just like a cloth.
Like I said, very simple.
And wait, did the smarty pants and I hear you correctly when you said loincloths only sometimes covered the butt?
As in, people used to walk around with their butts showing?
You betcha. Archaeologists found loincloths dating back 7 ,000 years.
7 ,000 year old underwear?
Pee -yew! Anyway, long ago in very warm climates where people lived in simple huts and spent lots of time outdoors, it was not uncommon to just wear a loincloth that covered the front, letting your backside feel the breeze.
I guess that would feel nice, but also, no thanks, nobody needs to see that.
Suit yourself. In Hawaii, researchers found loincloths that were many thousands of years old made of leather.
Ooh. Interesting. But early loincloths were made of wool, fabric from tree bark, or many other woven textiles.
I think I'd rank them cloth, wool, leather, tree bark.
Yeah. They also wore loincloths in ancient Rome and Greece.
Those were mostly made of wool and linen, but the wealthiest people preferred fancy loincloths made of silk.
Ooh, luxurious. And they had them in ancient Egypt too?
Did they ever? King Tut was even buried with several pairs of loincloths.
Hey, smarty pants, how many loincloths do you think were in King Tut's tomb?
Was it A, 22, B, 45, or C, 145?
If you said B, 45, you're only 100 off.
The answer is 145. Whoa.
Who needs 145 pairs of underwear?
Hey, it's a long afterlife.
Oh, good point. And who knows what the laundry situation is?
Okay, Whitey, what came after the loincloth?
Well, for a long time, in many cultures, underwear styles similar to the loincloth remain popular.
For example, in Japan, a type of underwear exists called fondoshi, which is similar to a loincloth, but is worn a bit closer to the body.
It's more comfortable and overall a bit more, well, secure.
Does it cover your butt?
Eh, not really. Then count me out.
Sorry, tidy Whitey, the only cheeks I'm showing off are the ones on my face.
That's cool, trusty.
We'll find the perfect pair for you.
But here's some fun fondoshi trivia.
True or false? The fondoshi was actually the most common type of underwear in Japan as late as the middle of the 20th century.
The middle of the 20th century, huh?
We're talking around World War II.
What do you think, smarty pants?
Believe it or not, the answer is true.
It wasn't until after World War II and the influence of American culture on Japan that Western, elasticized underwear became common.
Wow, but what about the rest of the world?
Were they feeling the breeze too?
And how did we get from the loincloth to boxers and briefs?
Great question. Underwear went through quite a few transformations before we got to where we are today.
For example, during the Middle Ages, in Europe, people wore a type of underwear called braise.
Braise, like how I cook my short ribs?
No, not braise like the cooking style.
Braise, as in the loose pant tied around your waist that went down to about the knee or calf.
We're not sure if they were worn by women and men, but we do know men definitely wore them.
Ah, so we went from loinclaws to loosey -goosey, almost pants -like underwear.
That is a significant change for the better, with way more butt coverage.
True. Of course, people wore much longer, looser clothing during the Middle Ages, so it made sense that they had longer, looser underwear too.
Plus, we're talking about Europe now, not Hawaii or Egypt, so the temperatures were cooler as well.
I mean, just take this castle we're standing in.
It's pretty chilly in here.
Whoa. Whoa, I gotta say, from one time traveler to another, you got some smooth skills, Whitey.
I didn't even feel us jump.
Well, that's the thing about underwear.
You don't really want to feel it.
You just want a nice layer of comfort between you and your clothes.
Good point. I usually don't feel it unless I give myself a wedgie, but let's not talk about that.
What about the woman?
We haven't really talked too much about the history of ladies' underwear.
Believe it or not, ladies' underwear was actually less crazy than the guy's stuff.
By the 1800s, women wore a type of underwear called pantalettes.
They were basically two individual pant pieces you'd step into that tied up at the waist.
And in the 18th century, the invention of the cotton gin and spinning jenny meant cotton fiber could be produced way faster than ever before and in much larger quantities.
Underwear was now produced on a much bigger scale and people could just buy it instead of having to make it themselves.
Oh, wow. Imagine having to sew your own underwear.
In addition, there was another new underwear invention in the 1800s that was beloved by men, women, and children.
It was called the Union Suit, AKA full body underwear.
Think Long John's, but as a onesie.
Ooh, now that sounds cozy.
It was very cozy. The Union Suit was invented in Utica, New York in 1868 and even had a butt flap you could unbutton so you could without having to take the whole thing off.
Wow, what a time to be alive.
But really big changes to underwear were just around the corner in the 20th century.
And we'll explore all of that right after this quick break and a word from our sponsors.
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