On July 5, 1946, French designer Louis Réard unveils a daring two-piece swimsuit - the bikini! #OnThisDay #NationalBikiniDay | Instagram
![TIL French engineer Louis Réard named his new swimsuit design the bikini, in hopes that its revealing style would create an "explosive commercial and cultural reaction" similar to the 1946 nuclear explosion TIL French engineer Louis Réard named his new swimsuit design the bikini, in hopes that its revealing style would create an "explosive commercial and cultural reaction" similar to the 1946 nuclear explosion](https://external-preview.redd.it/-OQRpF9i-tcXpc-GvqSnh0fTE4c2i5S-brwzUBTuHjQ.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=5d1982380a145b895d03e8ed6c9615499f6b06de)
TIL French engineer Louis Réard named his new swimsuit design the bikini, in hopes that its revealing style would create an "explosive commercial and cultural reaction" similar to the 1946 nuclear explosion
![The Bikini's Inventor Guessed How Much It Would Horrify the Public | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine The Bikini's Inventor Guessed How Much It Would Horrify the Public | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/xxXR84vrWyExaz9lKpcYZJ3HJbw=/1072x720/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/85/cf/85cfb374-ac0f-424f-ae36-316c633b78e5/bikini-470-wr.jpg)
The Bikini's Inventor Guessed How Much It Would Horrify the Public | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
![How the Summer of Atomic Bomb Testing Turned the Bikini Into a Phenomenon | At the Smithsonian| Smithsonian Magazine How the Summer of Atomic Bomb Testing Turned the Bikini Into a Phenomenon | At the Smithsonian| Smithsonian Magazine](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/dawuoVBiABmnnzRz_5kpJdMaH5g=/fit-in/1072x0/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/b3/d5/b3d5285b-98aa-4e0b-b21d-f8d517e3a586/u1816604web.jpg)