The Tale of the Exploding Brassiere

As a young woman, Betty Jenkins received a gift from her mother that was meant to attract the attention of young men... The gift was an inflatable bra that was designed to enhance its wearer's figure. A straw-like tube was used to inflate pads in the cups.

"I was real excited, so I blew and blew to about [size] 32," Jenkins said.

But things didn't go smoothly during a plane trip in South America. The plane was flying near the Andes Mountains when Jenkins began to feel pressure and sensed there was a problem...

Only one of the cups burst, Jenkins said. But the noise was loud enough to seize the attention of everyone on the plane.

"The co-pilot came into the cabin with a gun, wondering what had happened. The men all pointed to me."

Jenkins then tried to explain in Spanish what she could hardly explain in English, "that part of your anatomy just blew up."

The plane made an emergency landing, and Jenkins was handed over to the police. She was ordered to strip, as the officers looked for what they assumed could only be a bomb...

You can read the rest of the story at NPR's website. Interestingly, Snopes claims that exploding inflatable bras are urban legends. The lady at NPR says it happened to her.