If it seems like blue jeans have been around for a long time, that's because they have. The popular pants were first patented 143 years ago on May 20, 1873.
A year earlier, in 1872, Jacob Davis first created work pants that had metal rivets at the stress points. He wanted to file for a patent but didn't have the money, so he asked Levi Strauss to fund it. Strauss "agreed enthusiastically," according to History.com, and on May 20, 1873, Strauss and Davis received a patent for blue jeans.
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The pants were dyed blue to hide stains. The first denim "waist overalls," which were marketed to laborers, were an instant success in the U.S.
The work pants became a symbol of youth rebellion after James Dean popularized them in Rebel Without A Cause in the 1950s, and by the 1970s they had become casual wear.