I regularly give gifts that are safety-oriented.  It is my way of saying, “I care.” Midland alert weather radios have been a staple in my gift-giving arsenal for years.  Other basic safety items also regularly make their way into my gift-giving ethos.  This Christmas the safety item distributed to the entire family was a safety hammer that can be used to break a windshield and cut off a seat belt in the event you are trapped in your vehicle – particularly important in survival if your vehicle ends up in water (see seat belt – children – window – out).

I guess you could say that I am always scanning the horizon for new safety items that could help my family members stay safe.  Well, enter Elizabeth Davis, a member of the emergency management community who yesterday posted something quite interesting to one of the professional listservs that I am on that got me thinking about my next potential safety gift for family members.  At the risk of ruining the surprise for my family members I thought I should share it with all of you as well…it is just that riveting.

Let me start with the excerpt from Elizabeth’s post and then move on to my thoughts (of which I have a few).

Lifesaving Lingerie: When disaster strikes, just whip off your “Emergency Bra”

“…flipping through pages the above article title really caught my eye (Marie Claire, January 2011, page 70).  I read it.  I will share it with you all and suggest we file it in the “Really?” folder.  Something completely different to consider during these holidays.

So the gist of it is simple.  Dr. Elena Bodnar, a radiation-exposure expert from the Ukraine who participated in evacuation of children during the Chernobyl nuclear incident in 1986, has designed and sells (see www.ebbra.com for $30.00) an emergency bra to protect you (plus one other lucky person) as a face mask that will filter out airborne particles until you reach safety.  Her goal was to identify a way to enable civilians to have a safety device on their person at all times (pardon my pun).  So the article – along with a photo of a red one in use as a face mask – points out this is like “Victoria’s Secret meets FEMA”.  I am still trying to figure out just how curious I am about this.  Will it work is what I want to know as an emergency manager but is it comfortable and does it offer real support is what I want to know personally.  Well, I think I will leave it with this posting and you can try it yourself if you want.

Oh by the way guys – don’t feel left out.  She will have an emergency dress shirt with sleeves that convert to a filtration panel ready for you in early 2011.  Keep reading those magazines in the airports.”

Well…how ingenious is that?  Of course I had to fully investigate this emergency bra.  Prior to reading this post my conceptualization of an emergency bra was one that you had handy in case the one you had on blew a strap (or something like that).  I never would have envisioned its potential as a face mask (but having seen it, I will never evaluate a bra the same again).

Plus, look at the bra – it is adorable… mostly as a bra it is adorable, but as far as face masks go I am thinking it ranks at the top of many a list as well.  As for the cost – only $30.  Those of you who buy bras know that $30 is not unreasonable for a cute bra that is multi-functional.

My favorite part though is the his and hers t-shirts they sell on the site to promote the bra.  What a conversation starter those are!  I can just imagine the types of comments those shirts get, but I guess that is the point – to get folks talking.  Apparently it works too as Dr. Bodnar has managed to get national attention for this invention (not sure if that is a fair characterization…perhaps I should say – innovative use instead as according to Bette Midler someone else invented the bra).  Alas, invent or innovate – matters not – it will be difficult to look at a bra as having a singular purpose any longer.  Who knows, in the near future we may see multi-purpose bras that are the equivalent of Swiss Army knives – a one-stop shop carried everywhere and ready to be used to solve a multitude of problems (aside from their current problem-solving responsibilities – lift, support, pad and pretty-up).

So there you have it – the world may be saved by womankind’s ability to whip of their bra and offer a cup to a friend, lover or deserving bystander.  I have to wonder though – should I ask if all cup sizes are created equal as far as usage goes?  It is difficult to conceive that an “A” cup would offer the same facial coverage as a “D” cup.  Yeah, I don’t think I better go there…at least not today…or until I am a D cup (note to self…do cost-benefit analysis on that problem – the cost of obtaining bigger breasts for maximum bra face mask coverage – hmmmm).

I can’t wait to see the look on my family members faces when they receive their emergency bras.  I mean really…what says “I care” better than a red emergency bra?  😉

Day five hundred and thirty-nine of the new forty – obla di obla da

Ms. C