Ukrainian-born Elena Bodvar was a young medical-school graduate when the Chornobyl nuclear disaster spread radioactive material across Soviet Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia in 1986. For Bodvar, it was "impossible not to think about [the] necessity of protective devices on an individual level. That's when my initial idea was born." Her brainchild, the convertible bra mask, actually makes two masks -- one per cup -- so that so that "we [women] can save the life of a man next to us," she explains.
The 2009 ‘Ig Nobel’ Prizes — Bras, Beer Bottles, And Panda Poo
