09-02-2011, 05:38 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14746750
2 September 2011 Last updated at 10:58 GMT Shar
Why state surveys asked about bras and haddock
By Tom de Castella
BBC News Magazine
From bra ownership to television interference, the government has wanted to know some strange stuff about people in the UK. Now a history of social surveys reveals why.
In 1941, Britain's fight with Nazi Germany lay in the balance. But no effort was spared to improve the war effort. In November of that year, researchers from the Board of Trade interviewed 5,000 women about their lingerie collections.
The survey was well intentioned - to work out the amount of steel that was being diverted from the war effort to prop up women's corsets and other garments. But it led to unintended humour and, for a modern readership, some surprising answers.
2 September 2011 Last updated at 10:58 GMT Shar
Why state surveys asked about bras and haddock
By Tom de Castella
BBC News Magazine
From bra ownership to television interference, the government has wanted to know some strange stuff about people in the UK. Now a history of social surveys reveals why.
In 1941, Britain's fight with Nazi Germany lay in the balance. But no effort was spared to improve the war effort. In November of that year, researchers from the Board of Trade interviewed 5,000 women about their lingerie collections.
The survey was well intentioned - to work out the amount of steel that was being diverted from the war effort to prop up women's corsets and other garments. But it led to unintended humour and, for a modern readership, some surprising answers.