Emergency Bra: Unsnap, separate cups, inhale...
The bra--an invention worthy of an Ig Nobel Prize in 2009--is now commercially available in a sexy, life-saving, Red Cross shade of red.
Remember that bra we wrote about last year that lifted more than just our spirits when it won the 2009 Ig Nobel Public Health Prize?
Well, creator Dr. Elena Bodnar--whose inspiration comes in part from having witnessed as a young physician the devastating effects of the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster in 1986--is introducing the now commercially available Emergency Bra at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass., on September 28. She hopes we can all "get a feel of [sic] the product," as she has grown fond of saying.
The bra is, of course, meant to be taken off, something most adults presumably have experience with. Once removed, it separates into two masks which, when placed over the nose and mouth, filter out particles that were found to be as harmful as radiation in Chernobyl.
There is also some noise of a "counterpart device for men" in the works, though the precise shape it will take has yet to be revealed. The emergency bra may work well for women, but attaining the second of the two resulting masks does require men who are not cross-dressing to beg and plead in the event of a disaster.
As Bodnar explained in her alluring Ukrainian accent when accepting the award:
Ladies and gentlemen, isn't that wonderful that women have two breasts, not just one? We can save not only our own life, but also the life of a man of our choice next to us.
Now, a year later, what was once a bizarre and intriguing idea has turned into an actual bra that can be purchased online for $29.99. Ladies, it's a sexy red and comes in a wide range of sizes, from 32B to 40C. Gentlemen, Bodnar assures us that in the event of an emergency, the size of the cup does not matter.