No Pants Day is a prank that some groups have made into an annual event. The prank is based on the premise of having people attend an event not wearing any pants . Participants are challenged to act as if there is nothing strange about not wearing pants in public. The liberation of breaking a social taboo and seeing the reaction of people not aware of the event, generally makes the event fun for its participants. Different groups celebrate it on different days of the year.

History

There are unconfirmed reports that the holiday was celebrated as early as 1985 or 1986, there is no known physical record of the origin or first practice of No Pants Day.

Regional Celebrations

Texas

The Knighthood of BUH at the University of Texas at Austin are advocates of the holiday. Austin has celebrated the day since 1997 according to a 1999 flyer. The holiday gets media attention every year, and as a result events celebrating No Pants Day have popped up in cities across the globe. Promoters state that the holiday is about not taking oneself seriously. The holiday is an example of surreal humor, which relies on an absurd situation (in this case, crowds of people walking around wearing no trousers).

Idaho

Boise, Idaho celebrated its first No Pants Day in 2008.

Variations

A version of No Pants Day is The No Pants Subway Ride, an annual event organized by New York City prank collective Improv Everywhere. In this event, members of the group enter a subway car at consecutive stops without pants in the middle of winter. Participants pretend that they do not know each other and if asked, claim that they simply "forgot" their pants. The first No Pants Subway Ride took place in 2002 with seven riders and has grown exponentially each year. In 2009 over 1,200 people participated in New York and over 1,000 more participated in 21 other cities around the world. The fact that the No Pants Subway Ride has become a global event with multiple cities participating on the same day has led to its confusion with No Pants Day.

References

1. No Pants Day FAQ
2. No Pants Website
3. University of Texas — Knighthood of the BUH
4. Pictures on Flickr
5. Boise No Pants Day
6. Improv Everywhere — The No Pants Subway Rides

External links

• WeHatePants.com
• Improv Everywhere