Did the earliest Underwear only cover the front?

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 mantites.

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 callin’?

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 smarted. And believe me, I talked to you.

to everything yeah well you haven’t lived until you’ve jawed with your draws 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.

tiny 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.

In that case, it’s time to grab your smarty underpants as we take another whiff of science and history on…

Who’s smarted? Who’s smarted? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science? Or history? Listen up! Everyone, we make smarted! Lots of fun on Who’s Smarted!

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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 looked 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 be the hidey pants or see the loincloth the answer

is see 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 loinclaws 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? P .U. 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.

yourself! In Hawaii, researchers found loincloths that were many thousands of years old made of leather. Interesting. But early loincloths were made of wool, fabric from tree bark, or many other woven textiles.

I think I…

I could 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 loin cloths!

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. OK, 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 fundoshi, 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 doesn’t cover your butt. Yeah, not really Then count me out. Sorry tighty -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 fun -doshi trivia. True or false? The fun -doshi 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.

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 wine claws to loosey goosey, almost pants -like underwear. That is a significant change for the better, with way more butt coverage.

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, 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.

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.

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, a .k .a. 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.

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Trust me, it’s a game changer. Now back to who smarted. Okay, smarty underpants, where were we? Oh right, my new friend, Tidy Whitey, was about to tell us why the 20th century helped put underwear over the top.

Oh yeah.

In the 20th century underwear production became a huge industry. Union suits remained popular well into the 1930s, but while it took days to make just one pair in the 19th century, in the 20th century you could make a union suit in minutes.

Plus in the 20th century underwear became way more comfortable for women too. There was a new style called bloomers which were similar to the pantalettes of the 1800s, but they were much more like shorts.

They were very popular because they weren’t constricting and women could ride bicycles, exercise, and play sports in them.

Nice, even if bloomers is a funny word to say. What about the…

men. Men’s underwear, as we know them today, weren’t really invented until the 1930s. In 1935, a company called Coopers sold the first -ever pair of men’s briefs or tidy -whities in Chicago.

Hey, tighty whities, you’ve arrived!

Yep, they were the first ever underwear that had a Y -shaped fabric fly in the front, you know, to help you go pee -pee, without having to drop your dress.

Drawers, gotcha. Also, I get why they’re called tidy whitings, but why is underwear called drawers?

Because, early versions came as two separate pieces, one for each leg, that had to be pulled up, drawn together, and tied into place.

Oof, what a pain. I’m glad we’re past-

that? Yep. In fact, the underwear of the 30s and 40s were the first underwear that didn’t look like shorts, as they had no sections that covered the leg. And let me tell you, tell me, tell me, they took the world by storm.

Of course, just like with me, Tidy Whitey’s was just a nickname. The real name for this new style of underwear was…

Let’s see if you can guess it, Smarties. Is it jockeys, hockeys, or khakis? The answer is jockeys!

And they became so big, the company making them changed their name to Jackie, and they’re still around today. Nice. The 1930s were also when boxer -style underwear was popularized. They got the name because they resembled the shorts that boxers wore in the ring.

If that makes sense. Hey smarty underpants, true or false? During World War II, it was hard to find underwear to buy since all of the underwear being manufactured was first given to the soldiers fighting the war.

If you said true.

You’re right. Yep, and speaking of war, an underwear -related phrase comes directly from the battlefield. Oh yeah? Which one? Not the Power Wedgie. No! Have you ever heard the phrase, Going Commando?

I sure have. Have you, smarty underpants? Well, for those of you who don’t know, going commando means wearing your clothes without any underwear underneath. But I don’t know where it comes from. Tidy Whitey, do you know?

Well, the truth is no one knows for sure where the expression came from, but the most widely accepted theory is it comes from soldiers during the Vietnam War. The soldiers, or commandos, had to wear their uniforms and a lot of gear in hot, humid climates, so they ditched their underwear to be less, well, sweaty down there.

When they came home from war, the expression and practice became popular with young people on college campuses.

Now you know! And knowing is half the battle. Personally, I don’t think anyone should go commando for comfort, protection, and hygiene. But hey, that’s fine.

It’s just me. And me! If too many people go commando, I’m out of a job!

Right, and that reminds me. I came in here to buy underwear. Of course, there’s so many choices. There’s boxers, briefs, boxer briefs, jockey shorts, classic white underwear, underpants. Here’s what a dinosaur is.

Say, is it possible to still get a union suit? Hello, tighty whitey. You there? Hello?

There’s a customer in the men’s department talking to the underwear.

Oh boy, I’ll just take these boxers. Do you love Who’s Smarted but don’t love all the ads? You get it, but we also need ads to pay for the show. However, there is a way you can listen to Who’s Smarted without any ads while still supporting us.

Do subscribe to Who’s Smarted Plus, and for a few bucks a month you’ll get every episode ad -free plus an extra new episode every week and monthly bonus content. Our annual subscription even comes with a seven -day free trial.

Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts or on our website Whosmarted .com. Just click subscribe, and teachers click on educators to get Who’s Smarted Plus for free. Thanks for smarting with us. A big shout out to Noel in Sacramento, California.

Thanks so much for smarting with us, Noel. We’re so glad to hear you think Who’s Smarted is really funny and that you enjoy learning. Keep up the good work, smarty pants. This episode, Underwear, was written by Phil Fruit of the Loom Jeremy and voiced by Adam Long -John’s Davis, Gia BVD’s Davis, and Jerry Colbert.

Technical Direction and Sound Design by Josh The Thong Han. Our associate producer is Max Boxer’s Kamaski. The theme song is by Brian Skivvie Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis, Who’s Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert.

This has been an atomic entertainment production.

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