bra

Those breast exams women are supposed to regularly give themselves in the shower are no joke. With one in eight women facing breast cancer diagnosis at some point, early detection -- most often in the form of simple self exams -- can be a literal lifesaver.

So First Warning Systems, a company founded in Reno, Nev., in 2008, is designing and testing a smart bra that is essentially a continuous exam, and that thus far appears to be more accurate that the somewhat controversial mammography.

The Breast Tissue Screening Bra incorporates a sensor that measures tiny temperature changes that occur as blood vessels grow and feed tumors, which the company says grow for an average of 12 years (to 4 centimeters in diameter) before being surgically removed.

That sensor, meanwhile, communicates with pattern recognition software to help spot possible tumors long before a hand or mammogram likely would.… Read more

The Angry Birds bra came to our attention last year. Little did we suspect at the time it was just the tip of the undergarment iceberg in an upcoming flood of geek-themed bras.

If "Star Trek" is more your thing, then you can get a blue sciences division bra complete with insignia in vaguely the right location. Other options include a Portal bra and a nod to every 12-year-old boy's favorite calculator joke, "BOOBIES" done up in numeric style.… Read more

Some of us are slaves to technology while others are slaves to fashion, but for those of us who are indentured to both, this iPhone-carrying bra could be the path to liberation. Even if, like me, you don't possess an iPhone or breasts, it's still a wonder to behold.

Dubbed the JoeyBra -- as in baby kangaroo, because they have pouches, get it? -- it was created by two entrepreneurial business students at the University of Washington who saw great potential for growth in the pocketed bra market. At least, that's the pitch. In reality, a pair of students in search of a way to party without having to detach from their phones or accessorize their best bar-hopping gear came up with one. And that's no snark -- here's how they put it on their Web site:… Read more

Don't underestimate the power of Japan's brassieres.

We've seen Japanese bras that can grow rice, pressure men to propose, double as a golf green, and even offer messages of support in a crisis.

Now Japanese underwear makers are turning bras into an alternative fuel.

Triumph International and Wacoal have been collecting used bras from customers and turning the raw materials minus the metal into refuse paper and plastic fuel (RPF), which is used to power industrial boilers and power generators. … Read more

In the grand tradition of Crave stories about brassieres, we bring you the Angry Birds bra. There isn't much more to say about this one, except...it's an Angry Birds bra!

As you'll note from the picture, a red bird adorns one cup and a green pig covers the other--and hopefully they don't go at it too much or things could get a bit uncomfortable for the wearer. The bra comes in a range of levels sizes, and despite being handpainted, it's washable.

Crafts site Etsy lists the $35 garment as sold as of today, but the maker, Etsy member SceeneShoes, takes orders for custom-painted goods. So, all you Angry Birds fans in need of an uplift, you can get one too.

SceeneShoes' other creations include adorable Mario and Luigi and Sonic and Tails shoes, so we're betting she can finagle just about any manner of geek undergarment. WoW lingerie anyone? … Read more

We have uplifting news from Triumph International, the company that brought us the solar-panel bra, the husband-hunter bra, and the environmentally minded No Plastic Shopping Bag Bra, among other novelty lingerie.

Today, on the two-month anniversary of the Japanese quake and tsunami, the company unclasped the "Support Japan Bra," a strapless bustier and matching skirt covered in encouraging messages to disaster victims delivered from around the globe.

Now, it's probably safe to assume novelty lingerie isn't a priority for the many people still reeling from the epic natural disasters. Still, encouraging words from the global community, be they delivered by relief agencies, social media, or brassieres, will hopefully remind victims that they're still very much in hearts and minds the world over. … Read more

First, the bra that is meant to be taken off won an Ig Nobel award in October 2009. Then, just last week, the inventor unleashed the lacy gas masks on the open undergarment market at $29.99 a pop.

At the risk of overkill, this third (and likely final) mention of the bra is to put to rest all the rumors of just what the male counterpart will be. And no, it is not a jock strap.

Boston Herald's Working Stiff columnist Darren Garnick, who reports this morning from the trenches at MIT, tells us that Dr. Elena Bodnar … Read more

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 … Read more

There's clearly nothing more boring than a bra that just sits there doing its job holding the goods in place. The folks at Japanese underwear maker Triumph International understand this very well. Just in time for planting season, they've introduced something perfect for the proverbial farmer's daughter--a rice paddy bra.

Replete with agricultural symbolism, My Tanbo Bra has cups that join to form a rice planter. The bra pads themselves are also arm coverings in disguise, so you won't get sunburned when you're toiling away in the fields. The bra straps feature shiny discs to … Read more