The Bikini Turns 60!

Check out this slide show at Slate.com chronacling the history of the bikini. It was first doned in public in 1946, and was shunned by Americans for two decades.

The first designer, Jacques Heim, created a tiny suit called the atome. The second, Louis Reard, introduced his design on July 5, four days after the United States had begun atomic testing in the Bikini Atoll. In a rather bold marketing ploy, Reard named his creation le bikini, implying it was as momentous an invention as the new bomb.

Click here for Maxim slideshow on the bikini.