IT’S BEEN A tough week in the underwear world. Many of us learned about the one-sided man thong for the first time.

And now, hot on the heels of that discovery, everyone is talking about the C-string thong.

It looks like this:

Amazon Amazon

Yes, it’s basically a piece of bendy wire with a tiny bit of fabric stretched over it.

You wear it by bending the wire around your crotch, and hooking it between your buttocks. Like so:

Ebay Ebay

And yes, they’re also available for men.

Ebay Ebay

(You will have noticed that they really require a lot of… hair maintenance… in the groin area to be practical.)

C-strings have been around since at least 2007, when they were the subject of this faintly horrified op-ed in the Daily Mail. But the internet has really just discovered them on foot of the one-sided man-thong furore a few days ago.

Here’s what happened to Twitter mentions of C-strings over the last week:

Topsy Topsy

So what’s the advantage? Well, they’re widely sold with the promise of “no visible panty lines”. EBay’s buying guide notes that

Wearing a C-string while tanning will minimize the possibility of an inappropriate tan line.

while also commenting:

Men may wear a C-string while performing in dance competitions or modeling endeavors.

And the big, does it stay up? Well the answer is… sometimes:

However, a few people have noted problems. And even the trusty eBay buying guide notes:

Slouching, excessive eating, and rapid movement can all prevent the C-string from staying in place [...] Regardless of gender, movement should be restricted to walking or sitting straight up.

This model dared to wear one to the beach. But she DOES look like she’s moving around pretty cautiously.

Meanwhile, over on Amazon, the reviewers are split. Some are positive, like Eddie B:

sexy little number. wears well with dresses and makes me feel naked. great design and comfy so try it today

However, Brogan points out a slight problem:

I tried it, thought it would be neat, but think it through, every time you have to do anything in the bathroom, you have to take it completely off and hold it in your hand or put in on the counter.

And Finaljudge is on the fence:

if you are a person that has never try a thong o something similar, i dont recommended because it will hurt or at least will feel uncomfortable between your ass cheeks. It serves its purpose, it satys in position, but, i bought for the bedrroom, as something sexy to wear, it really doesnt look sexy.

We’ll leave it to Tyler Bushman to have the final word.

I bought one, but they inadvertently sent the female version to me. But, I decided to wear it to the beach anyway and let’s just say that my decision was ill conceived. Kids were crying, full grown men were throwing up, and the usage of Life Alert by the elderly spiked at an all time high.

Explainer: Here’s why one-sided man-thongs are the worst summer trend of all (NSFW)>