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Happy Birthday, Thong!

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The Bikini That Started It All

But it wasn't until 1974 that fashion legend Rudi Gernrich married the thong bottom to the bikini top. Gernrich was the man who pioneered unisex fashions. In the disco era, he unveiled clothing that made a woman look nude under the flashing lights of a dance club.

Only the most daring of women took to the beaches in a Gernrich original. But Mellinger, who roamed the world looking for "the next big thing" to introduce to Americans, saw that it was popular in Brazil.

In a stroke of genius, he decided the thong had a future not only as a bikini, but as underwear. Some women may have thought it was sleazy — but not for long.

"I have 10 years of thong experience under my belt," says Lisa Concepcion Giassa, 30, a faithful thong wearer from Bogota, N.J. "One thing I know about, is the thong lifestyle."

Back in 1992, when the original Jurassic Park hit the screen, and her husband was just a college boyfriend at Rutgers University, Giassa caught her first suntan in a thong at a local park.

"The park was totally empty and I felt comfortable in my thong undies," she said.

"Well since my booty was never in the sun before I got sunburned on my butt. I came home and my husband [then boyfriend] saw what I did to myself and said, 'instead of Jurassic Park, I'm going to call you Your Ass Is Dark.'"

This story has a happy ending. She got a new nickname, and the couple married six years later. Now, every time "I go to the Jersey Shore sporting my thong bikini, my hubby reminds me to put the SPF on my bottom," she says.

But when it comes to wearing tight skirts and pants, the thong should not be taken lightly. "It's one of the best inventions of the 20th century," Giassa says. "I'd rank it up there with the invention as the ATM machine. Very convenient — and no lines!"

As a thong model, Tweeden says she's happy if she's contributed to the underwear revolution. "My family is proud of what I do," she says. "It's modeling in Frederick's. It's not Hustler."

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