The secret of Marilyn Monroe's skirt: why she pulled up and how it affected the fate of the star

At the beginning of the 20th century, Manhattan became a favorite walking place for lonely New York men. They gathered in groups in certain places and waited. What? It's simple - the moment when the air flow from under the ground will bare the legs of a random woman. This entertainment has not lost popularity for half a century and interest in it faded only in the 60s. It was such a long-awaited moment with the participation of Marilyn Monroe that went down in the history of world culture.

On the night of September 15-16, 1954, there was a large crowd at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street in New York. The filming of the movie "Itch of the seventh year" with the magnificent Monroe took place. A blonde in a white dress was standing on a grate built into the sidewalk, and her dress was lifted by air currents at certain intervals.

The wind from the ground, as always, was created by the trains of the New York subway. Every gust of wind, lifting up the hem of Marilyn, the audience greeted with an approving hum. And the operator did everything and made new duplicates to get the perfect picture. By this point, the skirt trick had been entertaining men for more than 50 years, but for the first time a superstar and an idol of millions appeared on the grid.

But there was entertainment with skirts in the Big Apple even before the opening of the first branch of the subway. In 1904, the Flatiron Building skyscraper grew at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street. It was one of the first high-rise buildings in the city. It was triangular in plan and because of this it did not close the streets from the wind, but, on the contrary, contributed to the draft.

Even a light breeze at the intersection at the Flatiron Building turned into a squall. Women who found themselves on the street at that moment were forced to hold dresses and skirts with their hands. If the lady gaped, then the mischievous wind could lift the dress up to her head, to the delight of passers-by men.

Now the network is full of any "hot" content and it seems strange, but then there were enough fans of erotic shows. On the corner of Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, loafers were constantly hanging out, eager for a piquant spectacle. But this area was already elite at that time and the police did not like the accumulation of idle onlookers, not always presentably dressed.

The cops were shouting at these guys "Twenty three skidoo!" ("Get out of here on 23rd Street!"). Then everyone moved around the corner, but not for long. The police had to intervene so often that the phrase "23 skidoo" was firmly entrenched among New Yorkers. It still means "get out of here" or "get out quickly."

In 1904, the first line of the New York subway was launched. Soon, a dense network of tunnels appeared under Manhattan, which lay very shallow, right under the streets. In many cities, ventilation pumping stations are being built to pump air into underground tunnels. They were built in New York, but not in Manhattan, where the land cost astronomical money.

Therefore, for ventilation, they simply made openings closed with heavy grilles. When a train passes under such an opening, it creates a powerful stream of air escaping into the street. If at this moment a woman is standing on the grate in a loose dress or skirt, then the effect is even stronger than from the gusts of wind at the Flatiron building.

On the night of September 15, 1957, 14 takes were filmed with Monroe's participation. But the film's director, Billy Wilder, never approved of any of them. Later, this episode with Marilyn in a white dress was filmed at the Hollywood Pavilion. The film "Itch of the seventh year" became another high-profile success of the actress and played a decisive role in her fate. No, it's not about the growth of popularity, but precisely in those very unsuccessful takes on the street.

On the night of the shooting of the episode with the dress, the famous basketball player Joe DiMaggio stood in the crowd of men. This Italian differed from the rest of the onlookers in that he was not at all delighted with Marilyn's upturned skirt. This is not surprising, since he was pathologically jealous and was the actress's legal spouse.

The men's cheers and their greasy jokes about his wife infuriated the athlete. After filming, the couple quarreled and two weeks later Monroe filed for divorce. So, we can say that the wind from the subway brought serious changes to the life of the actress.

Now the air flows from the subway are of interest only to tourists who want to repeat the shots that have become historical. Bare feet in New York have long been no surprise to anyone, and not just feet. And the movie star's cocktail dress, which went down in history, was sold at auction in 2011 for $ 4.6 million (340 million rubles). Of course, not only the fact that the thing was worn by Monroe played a role in the formation of the price, but also the fact that the whole world knows this dress.