The Bikini, Nuclear Destruction, and the End of the World

On July 1, 1946, the United States conducted nuclear weapons tests at the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall islands. It was to be the first of many many tests over the next 12 years.

Fashion designer Jacques Heim named his new two-piece swimsuit after the Bikini Atoll. In truth, Heim was just trying to piggyback on the publicity generated by the American atomic tests. It worked.

The bikini became famous.

Mr. Heim was not the inventor of the bikini. It was a common style of bathing suit for years. Mr. Heim was merely the guy who gave it a name.

He succeeded.