This winter, join the Washington Post in its fight against hunger, homelessness, and poverty,

with the contribution to Post Helping Hand. To learn more and donate, visit posthelpinghand.com.

Hey, history lovers. I'm Mike Rosenwald with Retropod, a show about the past, rediscovered.

It does appear now, and it's a little colder.

We could get some snow starting Saturday evening and maybe in a part of Sunday.

We'll keep you updated on that.

It is winter in the United States.

And so that might make it seem like an odd time to talk about beaches and sunbathing and, well, topless sunbathing.

But historical moments have a funny way of popping up at the oddest times.

The reason the beach and topless sunbathing came to our attention recently is because of a lawsuit in Ocean City, Maryland, where women are suing for the right to go topless.

Last month, a federal judge ruled it is a-okay for the city to ban women from sunbathing

topless. And it turns out that the city is using the same arguments that men faced when they wanted to

swim shirtless in the 1920s and 30s.

Back then, arrests for toplessness at public beaches generated headlines about the nearly naked outlaws.

Government officials denounced the public display of nipples.

No shirtless bather will be allowed to mar the high standard and fine appearance

of Long Island's newly created Ocean Beach Park,

said the resolute local police chief

after the trial of three men arrested for swimming topless.

That's right, men. It doesn't seem like a big deal today, but 1930s America lived in fear of the male nipple. It was illegal in most states and

cities for men to go anywhere shirtless, even the beach.

Men were expected to wear full swimsuits, all with tank tops to hide the nipples,

...