This is one of the more recent examples on this list, but this bra that splits into two N95-grade masks was not created in response to COVID. No, the "emergency bra" debuted in 2009. At the time, the inventor did not cite disease as a reason to wear masks as underwear. Instead, the company pointed to disasters like 9/11 and Chernobyl (inventor Elena Bodnar was in Ukraine back in 1986 and helped treat Chernobyl victims).
This was a serious invention. Yes, the company leaned into the mockery—when they received the IgNoble prize for dumb science, Bodnar accepted the award in person and demo'd the invention, removing her bra and strapping its mask to Paul Krugman as the crowd hooted and hollered. But this was never supposed to be some novelty sex product. When people asked what the male counterpart would be, imagining a ridiculous convertible jock strap, the company instead unveiled a practical male dress shirt that flips into a mask.
Still, people did not take the company seriously. Besides the expected jokes ("a lot more men will be flying into skyscrapers now if it means women'll be whipping off their bras, haha!"), most people judged the likelihood of ever needing a face mask as too low to justify buying any specialized product.
Then, a decade later, the company ran into a seeming stroke of good luck. A pandemic hit, and suddenly, everyone needed masks. Surely now, the emergency bra would experience a renaissance!
Only, no. It turns out that if you're planning to keep a mask handy, it's really easy to just carry it with you rather than strapping it to your body under your clothes. Seriously, out of everything you might want to have on you, a mask may be the easiest thing to carry, whether in your pocket or in a handbag. Even if you refuse to wear a mask, "I have no easy way of keeping it on my person prior to wearing" is probably not your chief complaint.
Plus, the company doesn't sell options for anyone who wears larger than a D cup. Really limiting your market there, Emergency Bra. They will though stitch masks into your larger existing bra if you ship it to them. We needn't explain why you'd pick this tailoring service rather than just buying masks yourself and then stowing them somewhere besides on your boobs.
https://www.cracked.com/article_34615_10-strange-hats-and-masks-from-across-space-and-time.html
