Hundreds of people took part in the 10th Annual ‘No pants subway ride’ on Sunday 9th January. This took place on the New York subway in the afternoon.
Having met up before hand, small groups of people went to certain subway stations and boarded specific trains that they had planned beforehand.
The temperatures were below freezing that day and so the people taking part were either very brave or very stupid! At exactly 3pm the riders were riding on the subway in different carriages. They looked quite normal and then as soon as the doors shut at the stop before the one they were due to get off, they were instructed to strip off, down to their underwear below the waist and to quickly hide their shedded garment in bags and cases that they were carrying with them. They then got off the train and stood on the platform without their outer garments for a while to shock other users of the subway.
They were told that if anyway asked them why they were stripping off, they should just say that they were feeling uncomfortable. Obviously they were expecting to shock the other riders on the trains and with it being so cold, no doubt they certainly drew some attention, if nothing else.
Due to the cold weather, the participants were well wrapped up on their top halves, with coats, scarves and hats and this probably made the shock of seeing them with bare legs, even greater. Many people taking part wore brightly coloured underwear such as striped boxers or polka dot panties to make the occasion extra fun for everyone.
It may seem like such a strange thing to do but it is actually something which goes on in 50 cities around the world, well in two dozen countries anyway.