Long underwear

Etymology of ''long johns''

The manufacturing foundations of long johns may lie in Derbyshire, England, at John Smedley's Lea Mills, located in Matlock. The company has a 225-year heritage and is said to have created the garment, reputedly named after the late-19th-century heavyweight boxer John L. Sullivan; the company still produces long johns.

In 2004, Michael Quinion, a British etymologist and writer, postulated that the john in the item of apparel may be a reference to Sullivan, who wore a similar-looking garment in the ring. This explanation, however, is uncertain and the term's origin is ultimately unknown.

It has also been posed that the term is an approximation of the French longues jambes, which translates to 'long legs.'

History of long johns

Long johns were first introduced into England in the 17th century, but did not become popular as sleepwear until the 18th century.

It was first used as loungewear but later became popular in Truro, Nova Scotia. In 1898, Myles and his brother John had developed a product called Stanfield's Unshrinkable Underwear for their garment manufacturing company. He and his brother started with non-shrinking cotton underwear and applied for a patent for long johns on December 7, 1915.

From 1914 to mid-1918, the item of underwear most purchased by various military forces was a garment known as a union suit; it is a one-piece form of underwear covering body and legs and was the prototype of the Chinese zh (秋衣), the top part, and zh (秋裤), the bottom part. After 1918, countries returned to producing for civilians.

Demand declined following the spread of central heating and more frequent baths or showers.

Long underwear in other countries

China

In China, people use separate words to refer to the two parts of long underwear, and the terms vary across the country. In the northern part, people refer to the top as zh and the bottom as zh. People living south of the Yellow River and north of the Yangtze River refer to the top as zh and the bottom as zh. People living south of the Yangtze River call the top zh and the bottom zh.

In the early 2010s, a myth spread through Chinese social media that long underwear was part of the Soviet Union's conspiracy to prevent Chinese military powers from invading Soviet soil in the far east. The myth suggested that the Soviet Union believes that long underwear reduces Chinese soldiers' adaptability in cold climates based on the since-debunked theory of Lysenkoism popular in the mid-20th century.

References

References

1. [http://www.ccjk.com/fashion-long-johns/ ''The Fashion of Long Johns''] {{Webarchive. link. (2015-12-26 . Retrieved 26 December 2014.)
2. [[Michael Quinion. Quinion, Michael]] (21 February 2004). [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-lon2.htm ''World Wide Words''] {{Webarchive. link. (2007-01-27 . Retrieved 5 August 2011.)
3. "The History of Qiuku in China (中国秋裤兴衰史)".
4. 宗, 合. (19 December 2014). "图文：关于"秋裤君"的那些传说".