In the mid-20th century, the undisputed king of pin-up art was Art Frahm. While artists like Gil Elvgren painted women in slightly idealized, playful situations, Frahm became famous for a incredibly specific, hilariously recurring disaster: women's underwear mysteriously falling down in public.

Frahm’s paintings almost always followed a strict, chaotic formula:

1. A beautiful woman is carrying something awkward (usually a massive bag of groceries, a bowling ball, or a dog).

2. A sudden gust of wind or a stray branch snags her clothing.

3. Her underwear inexplicably snaps and falls to her ankles.

The funny detail: In the background, there is almost always a deeply confused cartoonish bystander—like a dog looking bewildered, a little boy staring in shock, or a celery stalk flying out of her grocery bag.

It became a massive running joke in the illustration world because of how utterly absurd and physically impossible the scenarios were. Yet, these calendars sold by the millions to automotive shops and hardware stores across America.