Bikini is Named for the Bikini Atoll

Despite being nearly 80 years old, the bikini is still among the most well-known swimsuit styles ever produced. It was intended to cause controversy when a French designer unveiled the two-piece back in 1946. Some people find it indecent, while others find it seductive. The bikini is essentially just a bra and panty suit, so there were certainly plenty of two-piece swimsuits or other clothing items long before then, but the concept of someone wearing one in public at that location and period in history raised some eyebrows. The bikini was also a moniker that people were certain to recall.

The name of the swimsuit was not thought up in a vacuum. The Bikini Atoll, which had the term long before the two-piece suit appeared, is where it originates. The atoll was well-known—or maybe infamous—for hosting nuclear weapons tests. In order to conduct testing, 23 nuclear weapons were dropped here. However, those tests had only recently begun when the bikini was published, so the amazing and terrifying power of nuclear bombs was a brand-new concept.

Nobody had ever witnessed anything like that, and nobody recognized the ramifications at the time either. They simply knew it was large. Therefore, the bikini made the most of everyone's sensation of wonder. If you will, it was a bombshell of a bikini. Something shocking that has never been seen before.