It's summertime, that means many Philadelphia families are taking trips to the “shore” - yup, the Jersey Shore. You might not see Snooki, The Situation, or Pauly D, but odds are if you take a walk on the beach you'll see many women wearing bikinis. So today's question is: Where did the bikini come from?

You might be surprised to know that during World War II the government directed the amount of cloth in women's beachwear be reduced by 10 percent, in an effort to conserve fabric that might be needed in the war effort. This restriction caused many swimsuit manufacturers to create swimsuits with bare midriffs – but the true bikini wasn't invented until after the war.

Two Frenchmen are known as the inventors of the bikini, Jacques Heim and Louis Réard. In 1946, Louis Réard, an engineer, named his design "Bikini" after a Pacific Ocean atoll and Jacques Heim named his design "atome", the French word for atom, which he said was the world's smallest bathing suit. In response, Réard created a bathing suit with only 30 inches of fabric – it was so small, he couldn't find a model to wear it in public (eventually he hired a nude dancer who was photographed wearing one).

The bikini was considered too controversial and was banned in many European beaches, but during the 1950s many movie actresses, such as Diana Dors, Marilyn Monore and Jayne Mansfield were photographed wearing them and the bikini's popularity grew. In the 1960s, the song Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini was released along with a wave of beach-themed movies, like the James Bond film Dr. No, which featured an iconic Ursula Andress in a bikini (with a knife on her belt), and One Million Years B.C., where Raquel Welch played a cavewoman in a fur bikini.

Today, the bikini is commonplace, but it's interesting to know it all started from fabric rationing.

Interested in the history of fashion? Check out these resources:

• The Complete History of Costume & Fashion: From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day by Brownyn Cosgrave
• History of Twentieth Century Fashion by Elizabeth Ewing
• Black in the History of Fashion by Lois K. Alexander
• Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion by Jane Mulvagh
• How Underwear Got Under There: A Brief History by Kathy Shaskan
• Bikini Beach: The Wicked Riviera as It Was and Is by Geoffrey Bocca
• Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages Edited by Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast.

Tags: Recommendations, fashion

Overdrive Media, the company that supports many of the downloadable eBooks and audiobooks available through the Free Library of Philadelphia does an awfully good job ensuring that their service is compatible with the ever growing number of e-readers and mp3 players on the market today.  However, they don't necessarily play nicely with every device - the prime example of course being the Amazon Kindle.  However, if you are regular reader of this blog you know that a deal is in place to allow Kindle owners to download Overdrive eBooks from their public library by the end of this year.  Because the Kindle is the top selling e-reader on the market, this is really big news.  However, there are still a lot of other devices out there.  That's why Overdrive provides a thorough list of compatible devices on their website.  They also provide a list of devices that they know are not compatible.  If you cannot find your device listed on these pages, try this handy tool to test your device for compatibility (scroll to the bottom of the page).

Tags: digital collections, ebooks

Today is Bastille Day--the French national holiday--and I'm in a Francophile kind of mood, right down to the croissant from Parkway Central Library's H.O.M.E.Page Café that I had for breakfast. Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille (a fortress and prison in Paris) on July 14, 1789, which provided the spark to the powerful fire of the French Revolution. Several places throughout Philadelphia have fun Bastille Day celebrations planned, including our neighbors at Eastern State Penitentiary, who host a festive re-enactment featuring Super Soakers and Marie Antoinette shouting, "Let them eat TastyKake!" (Ah, Philadelphia.) To fuel your appetite for all things French, why not check out some of the great resources here at the Free Library?

Master the art of French cooking with Julia Child's legendary cookbooks; put together a family fun night featuring The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Ratatouille, and The Little Prince; or lose yourself in the city of lights with A Moveable Feast, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, or Paris to the Moon. Revisit some of the greats of French literature: Rabelais, Flaubert, Proust, and Camus. Sing along with Cosette and Jean Valjean from Les Misérables. Or hop onto our fantastic Mango Languages software and learn the native tongue in no time!

Liberté! Egalité! Fraternité!

Although the last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published four years ago, the last installment of the film series will finally be released this week.  (See related article with quotes from our President and Director Siobhan Reardon and Children's Librarian Joel Nichols: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110710_For__Harry_Potter__fans__an_era_is_ending.html)

Somehow, with the movies lagging behind the books, it has allowed us to keep the presence of the characters in our lives. From our first encounter with Harry back in 1997, we were charmed by his dual place in the world: his life as a muggle (human born) and his life as a wizard at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The truth is that beyond the special effects and the magic, the real attraction to the series is the eternal theme of the battle between good and evil. It is also the story of a boy who feels so out of place and who thinks that no one else in the world is like him.  In other words, the story of many adolescents.  When Harry does discover two people with whom he has something in common, a lifetime friendship is forged with Ron and Hermione.  So it is with excitement tinged with sadness that we await this week's film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.  To get the most out of your viewing experience, why not refresh your memory by re-reading earlier books in the series or by seeing the previous film releases. They are all available at your local library!

Tags: Children's books

Dun-dun. Dun-dun. (That's my poor attempt at the Jaws theme song, if you can't tell). It's coming. Tucked under those wide, floppy leaves, hiding under the thick, prickly plant stems, masking itself like a chameleon under a canopy of  garden green... until one day, you spy it. It could win awards at county fairs; it could knock a man silly if wielded improperly. The monster zucchini. Sure, maybe you noticed a small hint of a vegetable amid the yellow blossoms when you were watering your plants the other day. But before you could say ratatouille, it grew into the behemoth you now cradle in your arms like a 10 lb. infant, wondering just how in the world you're going to use it all up--not to mention the seemingly hundreds of other monster zucchinis now taking over your garden (and your dinner table) for the next couple of months.

I love zucchini. I really do. Each year, I always grow a zucchini plant or two in my garden--and each year, I always forget about the sheer size of the onslaught. I tell myself I will catch these suckers when they're still small and tender and manageable--and as usual, I fail miserably in my efforts. For me, it started this weekend. In the past few days, I've harvested one lovely, normal-sized zucchini, and three baseball bats. And as much as one can lament having an overabundance of food in a world where so many are hungry (which is to say, not at all), I always find myself struggling to use it all up. I make zucchini bread, zucchini fritters, ratatouille, and more, but it never seems to go away. Below are some of my favorite cookbooks for quality zucchini recipes.

The Classic Zucchini Cookbook - If 225 zucchini-centric recipes can't help, I don't know what can.

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian - Mark Bittman offers some great squash-based recipes with a global flavor.

Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life - I swoon just as much over the gorgeous photography in Jamie Oliver's cookbook as I do the excellent recipes. Grilled zucchini as a pizza topping! Delicious!

Fast Food My Way - Jacques Pépin has the best recipe for zucchini and tomato salad. Summer in a bowl!

Molto Italiano - Mario Batali's stuffed zucchini flowers are indulgent and delicious (and a great excuse to cull potential zucchini monsters before they begin to grow).

Are you in the same predicament? What are your favorite zucchini-based dishes? Do you want to take some zucchini off my hands? (I'm just kidding. Well, mostly.) Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments!

Tags: gardening