Otto Titzling

Otto Titzling is a fictional character who is apocryphally described as the inventor of the brassiere in a book Bust Up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling, published by Macdonald in London in 1971 and by Prentice-Hall in the USA.

The name, a pun on "a two-tit sling," was invented by humorist Wallace Reyburn in the 1970s. Since then, the name has appeared in the game Trivial Pursuit (the makers of the game fell for the hoax, and listed "Otto Titzling" as the "correct answer" to the question of who invented the brassiere), the 1988 movie Beaches features a song by this name sung by Bette Midler, and has appeared in practice questions sent out to prospective teams by the BBC 2 show University Challenge.

A similar situation exists with Thomas Crapper, who was a real-life plumber but did not invent the flush toilet.

External links

• False claim: The brassiere was invented by Otto Titzling (from Snopes.com)