It all started at a feminist rally in the nineteen sixties, when a young lady called Prunella Summers accidentally dropped her third whiskey over herself, and made a brave attempt to pat herself dry with her free hand, forgetting that she was holding a freshly lit cigarette. The lethal combination of alcohol and burning ember instantly caused her soaked undergarments to spontaneously combust. Without batting an eyelid for modesty, Prunella ripped off the offending article and waved it in the air, in a last ditched attempt to put out the flames. Her over-eager comrades took this to be a flamboyant protest against female repression, and decided to follow suite. Before the event organisers could say fire risk the entire camp was ablaze with the flickering flames of a hundred bras held aloft.

At the same time, bra burning was also discovered to be a good way to start camp fires because of the oil excreted by the body onto the garment, thereby making it more flammable. They are, however, totally inappropriate for indoor fires, in accordance with international guidelines regarding fabric flammability.