11th Annual No-Pants Day Observed Around the World

What started as a silly prank by a handful of guys riding the New York Metro back in 2002 has morphed into a worldwide celebration of underwear as commuters in cities from New York, to Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, London and Sydney, dropped their drawers and rode with mischievous grins. Because it's not exactly a mainstream event, details of the history of No Pants Day (NPD), are sketchy, with each account of the various going's on, described according to individual taste. One site that purports to have the true and real history of the movement, as they call it is a group called Improv Everywhere, who support not just No Pants Day, but any sort of improvisational activity, so long as no one is harmed.

NPD works like this. Every year on January 8^th, which was a Sunday this year, participants make their way to a metro station. Supposedly, such participants take the same subway they take as a normal part of their usual existence. On NPD however, they either drop their pants or skirts on the way to the station, on the platform, or after they've boarded their train. They then simply ride the rails as they would were they not sitting or standing around in their undies, plain-faced, acting as if everything is normal.

What's perhaps most striking about the whole thing is that it happens in so many cities that are experiencing the chill of mid-winter, thus, most wear coats, mittens, hats, etc, over bare legs and exposed jockeys or frilly feminine panties. A sort of yin and yang thing, with the differences in garments setting off the ludicrousness of riding in trains with no pants on.

Reactions to the semi-exposed riders is mixed of course, with some ignoring them completely while others are openly disdainful. The authorities seem to take it all in stride after becoming wise to the practice after the first couple of years. There is also a rather marked difference between participants as both men and women participate. Unspoken is the tacit acknowledgement that most rather enjoy the sight of young ladies in their underthings while men are seen more as comical or gross.

The underlying assumption is that most that participate do so because they find it a bit of a thrill; doing something they would never consider doing on any normal day. A sort of chance to break out of the standard mold that we are all expected to embrace most of the time, and a way to show the world perhaps, that they are not just cookie-cutter people, doing what is expected of them all the time.