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The No Pants Subway Ride 2011: What Do Parents Think?
What if this man wasn't wearing any pants?
Yesterday, about 3,500 people in New York City rode the subway in their underwear. Why? Because they forgot to wear pants. Or, because their pants were uncomfortable.
No, really, those are just the excuses that they were supposed to give—with a straight face—if anyone asked why they weren’t wearing pants. The pantless people were part of a prank organized by Improv Everywhere, a New York City-based group that “causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places.”
This was their 10th annual event, which has happened in cities around the world. The group recruited people to meet at six meeting points around the city, where they then dispersed onto different train cars. Once there, they took off their pants and pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary—carrying their briefcases, listening to their iPods, and even sleeping—everything they would normally do on the subway. With one exception.
I rode the New York City subways for years in my 20s, and happened to witness pantless riders on more than one occasion, but for more sketchy reasons than we’re talking about here. So, let me just say: This made me laugh. I’m all for “scenes of spontaneous joy in public places.” I mean, really, we could all use a little more spontaneous fun in our lives. The chaos part is a worry, though. This event apparently had police working with the organizers to make sure that laws weren’t broken. (Who knew that it’s not illegal to ride the subway in your underwear?)
But, I wasn’t riding the subway with my kids yesterday. Were you? As a parent, what’s your take on the prank? Harmless fun, or something you wouldn’t want your children exposed to, no pun intended?
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Deb commented on Jan 10 11 at 11:35 amI’m sure kids have seen people in their underwear before. It makes for a good giggle and seems harmless.
ALittleShort commented on Jan 10 11 at 12:29 pmPlease, I have seen kids in the San Francisco Bay to Breakers and there are geriatrics that do the race in their birthday suit. This is funny and we as the US need to stop being such prudes with nudity.
Sara commented on Jan 10 11 at 12:49 pmIf my daughter and I saw that we’d giggle and giggle, then when we saw my husband we’d tell the whole story and giggle and giggle again. It’s not like it’s less than you’d see at a swimming pool
Gail commented on Jan 10 11 at 1:34 pmI think I would have to laugh too-
all I keep thinking is it is January!
Brrr!!!!! and of course the Seinfeld episode where George complains of
being cold in the pool- but that’s for another column-
Rosana commented on Jan 10 11 at 3:36 pmYuck!!!!!!
Snarky Mama commented on Jan 10 11 at 7:15 pmYou think that’s weird, try this on for size.
Neeroc commented on Jan 10 11 at 8:26 pmMy daughter is 3 so she probably would have joined in. *g*
I would have had no issue with it, I have a very hard time seeing the human body as obscene or shameful and from your description, they were wearing underwear, which really isn’t that different from many bathing suits out there.
Jill commented on Jan 10 11 at 8:46 pmHilarious!
Tom commented on Jan 10 11 at 9:18 pmit was pretty harmless if you watch how they pull it off, this was SF…
http://www.transitpeep.com/view/Fashion/160
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