As status symbol: King Tut was buried in 1352 B.C. with 145 loincloths.
As ego inflators: Middle Ages codpieces at first served merely as protection, until Henry VIII started a padding trend.
As taboo: In the Victorian era, hanging men's and women's underthings on the same clothesline was a no-no. An even bigger no-no: Uttering any underwear-related word aloud in mixed company ("I'm telling Ma you said 'bra!'").
As danger magnets: When American World War II troops realized their line-drying white underwear were easy targets for enemy fire, the Army changed its stock to olive drab.
Go Hollywood: In the 1950s, plain white T-shirts helped make stars of Marlon Brando, James Dean and Paul Newman (who often walked around onscreen in his boxers, too).
As art: Andy Warhol used a pair of Jockey briefs, his preferred brand, as a canvas for one of his dollar-sign paintings.
On the outside: First Madonna made it trendy in the' 80s for women to wear bras and slips over shirts and pants. The guys caught up in the '90s, showing off their boxer tops above low-riding baggy jeans.
As political statement: Boxers or briefs? asked an MTV interviewer of Bill Clinton in 1994. He answered (briefs), dooming every president hence to the same inane question.
