No Pants Subway Ride 2016
What began as an improv group's prank on NYC mass transit has taken over the globe in an annual exhibition of lighthearted nonsense, as passengers around the world marked No Pants Subway Ride 2016.
Pictured: Subway passengers bare their legs in Berlin, January 10, 2016.
2002
In 2002 10 members of Improv Everywhere initiated the No Pants Subway Ride in New York City, stripping themselves of their pants on the 6 train as passengers watched, unsure. A couple of men resented what another passenger defended as performance art. "Well, then, bring it to the theatre," they replied. "This is not the opera house. This is the subway!"
To which another woman retorted, "You're forgetting what happened on September 11th! Lighten up!"
Five years later, the 2002 video was posted on YouTube, which was spotted by Kate (the girl seen reading "The Rape of Nanking"). "Do I get a free shirt or something?" she wrote. No, but she did get to appear in a 2013 documentary about the group's many stunts, "We Cause Scenes."
Keine Hosen
Key to the stunt is that participants must act as if nothing unusual is going on.
Today, No Pants Subway Ride has spread around the world, with legs bared in trains across the U.S., as well as in Berlin (pictured, in 2014), London, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Warsaw, Prague, Stockholm and Tokyo.
Prague
There are only two requirements for participation:
1) Be willing to take your pants off on the subway; and
2) Be able to keep a straight face about it.
Pictured: Participants in Prague, Czech Republic, January 10, 2016.
Prague
Two girls prepare to take part in the No Pants Subway Ride in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016.
Prague
Passengers not wearing pants wait for a subway train during the No Pants Subway Ride in Prague, Czech Republic, January 10, 2016.
Despite the viral nature of the event, participants are requested to refrain from taking photos until after their stunt. ("Remember: Taking photos is not keeping a straight face.")
Prague
Passengers not wearing pants take part in the No Pants Subway Ride in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016.
Berlin
A mother and her son take part in the No Pants Subway Ride in Berlin, January 10, 2016. The "celebration of silliness" is designed to make other passengers smile.
Berlin
People take part in the No Pants Subway Ride in Berlin, January 10, 2016.
Berlin
People take part in the No Pants Subway Ride in Berlin, January 10, 2016.
Vienna
People take part in the No Pants Subway Ride in Vienna, Austria, January 10, 2016.
Vienna
People take part in the No Pants Subway Ride in Vienna, Austria, January 10, 2016.
Hamburg
Men without pants wait for a train at the subway station in Hamburg, Germany during the No Pants Subway Ride on January 10, 2016.
Bucharest
A girl rides on a train as she takes part in the No Pants Subway Ride in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016.
Bucharest
A girl rides on a train as she takes part in the No Pants Subway Ride in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016.
Jerusalem
An Israeli man waits without pants for travel on the light rail as he takes part in the No Pants Subway Ride event in Jerusalem January 10, 2016.
Jerusalem
Passengers take part in the annual international No Pants Subway Ride on the Jerusalem light train on January 10, 2016.
London
Participants arrive at a train station in London for No Pants Subway Ride, January 10, 2016.
London
Participants in No Pants Subway Ride wait at a station for an underground train in London, January 10, 2016.
London
A participant in No Pants Subway Ride looks at a London tube map, January 10, 2016.
London
Participants in No Pants Subway Ride travel on a London underground, January 10, 2016.
Warsaw
A man in underpants, taking part in the No Pants Subway Ride event, rides on an underground train in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016.
Warsaw
Two girls react as people in underwear take part in the No Pants Subway Ride event in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016.
New York City
A man in boxer shorts and a woman wearing hosiery with a garter belt wait for a train at a Manhattan train station during the 15th annual No Pants Subway Ride Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016, in New York.
New York City
A woman with no pants rides the subway during the annual No Pants Subway Ride in New York, January 10, 2016.
New York City
People with no pants ride the subway during the annual No Pants Subway Ride in New York, January 10, 2016.
New York City
People with no pants ride the subway during the annual No Pants Subway Ride in New York, January 10, 2016.
New York City
People with no pants ride the subway during the annual No Pants Subway Ride in New York, January 10, 2016.
New York City
Participants in the No Pants Subway Ride walk on a New York City subway platform January 10, 2016 in New York.
New York City
Participants in the No Pants Subway Ride walk on a New York City subway platform January 10, 2016 in New York.
New York City
A participant in the No Pants Subway Ride gets a little carried away, January 10, 2016 in New York.
New York City
A participant in the No Pants Subway Ride stands on a New York City subway platform January 10, 2016 in New York.
New York City
Participants in the No Pants Subway Ride walk on a New York City subway platform January 10, 2016 in New York.
New York City
Participants in the No Pants Subway Ride stand on a New York City subway platform January 10, 2016 in New York.