Scatter Brained

1922:
 Perhaps the most important year in the history of 
C H A P T E R   3

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72
S C A T T E R B R A I N E D
women’s underwear (at least from a man’s perspective): a lux-
urious new kind of underwear with pleated chiff on, crepe, 
and satin is popularized by fl appers. It comes to be called 
“lingerie” (for the French for “underwear”).
1970:
  Th
  e thong begins to appear on Brazilian beaches. 
Apparently, underwear fashion has come full circle, return-
ing to the days of loincloth-wearing, butt-baring simplic-
ity. Appropriately, however, 
thong
 is actually an ancient 
word, derived from the Old English 
thwong
, meaning “fl ex-
ible leather cord.” Which means that—had he been so in-
clined—Shakespeare might have penned Sisqo’s tune as 
“Th
  wong  Song.”  Which  brings  us  to  the  Bard  himself  (no, 
not Sisqo). . . .
07
  Will the Real Will Shakespeare 
Please Stand Up?
Shakespeare’s true identity has been the subject of intense 
academic debate and bizarre conspiracy theories since the 
18th century. While most of the conspiracy claims have been 
debunked and almost all scholars believe the historical Wil-
liam Shakespeare wrote the plays attributed to him, the ru-
mors persist. So who was Shakespeare if Shakespeare wasn’t 
Shakespeare? Here are the usual—and a couple of the more 
unusual—suspects.