The bikini received its official introduction on July 5, 1946 at a poolside fashion show in Paris. The modern creation of the bikini is credited to designer Jacques Heim and engineer Louis Reard. Heim's version preceded Reard's and went by the name "atome" which referenced the atom-the smallest particle known to mankind at the time-and was a play on the controversial and non-traditional scarcity of fabric for which the bikini became known. Reard's design modified the "atome" by cropping the amount of fabric and was named the "bikini" after the Bikini Atoll, the site of nuclear weapon tests in...