# Safety bulletin or absurd demise? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 26, 1999, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317 "1999-12-26T19:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/1 "1999-12-26T19:56:00Z")
You decide: [Underwire Bras Deadly](http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-41.html). Read the article. Then comment. It’s not as funny as other Darwin Awards, but it got me thinking – just what _is_ the function of a brassiere underwire (apart from making the wearer uncomfortable)? –Baloo * * * I once lost my corkscrew and had to live on food and water for several days -W.C. Fields [http://members.tripod.com/~Bob\_Baloo/index.htm](http://members.tripod.com/~Bob_Baloo/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/2 "1999-12-26T20:03:00Z")
They hold your boobs up. ## Zette (see- there really are simple answers sometimes) Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high. Not enough and you’re gonna die… [Click here for some GOOD news for a change](http://www.binghamtonpress.com/binghamtonnews/local/Sanews5.html)[Zettecity](http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/zettecity/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Shadowfox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfox)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/3 "1999-12-26T20:04:00Z")
I thought that was their main function, to torture the poor woman who were stupid enough to buy the things. They do hold the breasts up better (perkier, that is), but they are one of the most uncomfortable things to wear. (now, was that Mundane and Pointless enough for you?) * * * Shadowfox “We are what we pretend to be.” - Kurt Vonnegut ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/4 "1999-12-26T20:10:00Z")
The point of the story seems to be more “lightning is deadly” than “bras are deadly,” actually. If underwire bras fit right, they don’t hurt. Of course, if they fit right at first, then they twist in the wash and don’t fit right anymore. Wearing a wire, Catrandom ---
**Author:** ![Prairie\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Prairie\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prairie_Rose)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/5 "1999-12-26T20:34:00Z")
Sorry to hijack this topic a little, but does anyone know a company that makes underwire nursing bras (in black lace would be a plus!)? I’m so tired of the white cotton bras that don’t seem to support these new endowments quite as well. ☹ Prairie Rose * * * If you’re not part of the solution you’re just scumming up the bottom of the beaker. ---
**Author:** ![Yankee\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7ea924/32.png) [@Yankee\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankee_Blue)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/6 "1999-12-26T21:42:00Z")
Forget it Prairie, you’re stuck with white…ok, maybe beige, Welcome to my world - bigger tits no stylish selection. -your underwire poster girl * * * ~There is no statute of limitations on karma~ ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/7 "1999-12-26T23:26:00Z")
Hm… I don’t find underwires uncomfortable at all, but then, I’ve been wearing them since I was in high school. I find that wearing a regular no-wire bra is uncomfortable (not enough lift for these puppies!) And I’ll add this, at 41, my boobs look GREAT (_very_ minimal sagging), so there is a definite long-term benefit to wearing an underwire. > [@](#): > > if they fit right at first, then they twist in the wash If I may make a suggestion: buy yourself a lingerie laundry bag (kind of a zippered mesh thing), so they don’t get twisted around your other clothes. Also, NEVER put bras in the dryer. Finally, invest $20-$30 in a GOOD bra (sturdy doesn’t necessarily mean ugly, though you will have to look and try on several styles). The sides don’t stretch out as fast, and they don’t fall apart NEARLY as quickly as middle-of-the-line bras do. I like Olga and Vanity Fair… give 'em a try, I don’t think they’ll :::ahem::: let you down. \< snork! \> * * * **StoryTyler** “Not everybody does it, but everybody should.” [I Spy Ty.](http://sites.netscape.net/storytyler/homepage) ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 1999, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/8 "1999-12-27T20:33:00Z")
I’ll back up StoryTyler. I just about always wear an underwire bra, because I find them more comfortable. No sagging here. [brag ON] In fact, just about every man who has ever seen my, ahem, endowments, has told me they’re perfect [brag off]. No, I’m not going to post pictures. You have to take my word for it. Olga and Victoria’s Secret are my favorite. And I like the little mesh bag thingy too, but I can rarely find it when I do wash, so I just pick through my clothes and remove the bras when it comes time to put the clothes in the dryer. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 1999, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/9 "1999-12-27T20:44:00Z")
Prairie: Playtex makes underwire nursing bras. I found mine at Sears, I think. Only in white and beige, though. I think they are more comfortable, too. When you get to a C or beyond the elastic on non-wire bras is too wide to be comfortable and the wires give much better support. ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 1999, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/10 "1999-12-27T20:58:00Z")
This just underscores a question I have about the Darwin awards. Short version: WTF?! Long version: why do they pretend so many people have died of their own stupidity when in reality the incident could have happened to anyone. E.g., the Russian policeman who was stabbed to death by a fellow policeman. The guy who _survived_ was the stupid one. The moral: kill your friends before they kill you?! The answer, because they’re a bunch of bozos. They like to laugh at other people dying, and they cover it up with smug jokes about improving the gene pool. I’m done. I’ll step off now. * * * - Boris B, Hellacious Ornithologist ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 1999, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/11 "1999-12-27T21:10:00Z")
I think there was a thread about this back when it first happened. The consensus was no, the lightning did NOT strike the underwires; but it was conducted along any metal surfaces on the ladies (wristwatches, hairpins, etc.). I will not be discussing my own lingeree here; you gentlemen have enough trouble concentrating without picturing me in lacy step-ins. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Scarlet\_Pimpernel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f1d935/32.png) [@the\_Scarlet\_Pimpernel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Scarlet_Pimpernel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 1999, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/12 "1999-12-27T21:26:00Z")
Prairie: Ya know, I bought a new bra just last week at my favorite lingerie store - the only store in the world that sells sexy, youthful, and _comfortable_ bras for G-cups - and they had a black lace nursing bra on a mannikin. I didnt check to see if it was underwire, nor what company makes it, but I promise I will next time Im in town, almost certainly within the week, and get back to you. It’s probably a European co, though, so youd likely have to mail-order. Incidentally, I _only_ wear underwires. Otherwise they just dont give enough support, and I look like Im not wearing a bra at all. * * * It is better to waste your youth than do nothing with it. – Georges Courteline ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 1999, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/13 "1999-12-28T00:34:00Z")
The thing the two women did wrong, as any 1st grader can tell was to stand under a tree. The fact that they had burns where the bra underwires were is no different than wounds seen in people with braces, metal-framed eyeglasses, or a lot of metal in a pocket. The fact that is a bra instead of one of the more mundane items mentioned above makes this story funny somehow… The lightning killed them. Standing under the tree caused the lightning to strike them. Wearing underwire bras left a mark on their bodies & a splash in the news. * * * Sue from El Paso Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 1999, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/14 "1999-12-28T01:00:00Z")
“Lacy step-ins”? Did Eve step out of a Thorne Smith novel or what? ---
**Author:** ![meek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@meek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meek)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 1999, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/15 "1999-12-28T17:29:00Z")
Just to be safe - I have decided to stop wearing underwire bras outdoors… Um… I mean… **IF** I was a woman wearing a bra at all… I mean… um…er… nevermind. I am going to go now. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 1999, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/16 "1999-12-28T17:43:00Z")
Finagle: Thorne Smith? Jiminy–if you know who Tiffany Thayer was, you’re gonna replace Ukelele Ike in my affections! –Elinor Glyn ---
**Author:** ![Kiki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kiki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiki)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/17 "1999-12-29T06:18:00Z")
I prefer underwire for a little lift but it doesn’t make much of a difference to me. I’m not well-endowed unfortunately. I thought they were supposed to get bigger after having babies but not me… they shrunk after I quit breastfeeding. Now all I can say is this… I make the walls jealous! ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/18 "1999-12-29T06:22:00Z")
Okay, where are all the Itty Bitty Titty Commitee members in this thread? I feel alone here…those of us with small cup sizes don’t need them. I have tried them before and I find them very uncomfortable. Also, they do make them without metal these days so one does not need to worry about lightning while wearing one. ( she says as she sits here in her jammies with no bra on at all…in fact she never wears a bra while at home which is 80% of the day…guess she will have the droopiest breasts out of all the women on this board, geez, that should look real funny! ) ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 1999, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-bulletin-or-absurd-demise/12317/19 "1999-12-28T21:01:00Z")
…something for lift and cleavage that doesn’t conduct electricity… Not many problems that can’t be solved with a little duct tape. * * * They don’t call me the colonel because I’m some dumbass army guy.