Stories of the Strange
Pant-Free Riders On BART
By Clark Milan
Jan 17, 2010 - 8:19:48 PM
SAN FRANCISCO—BART passengers were in for a revealing public commute experience on Sunday afternoon, January 10, as masses of people rode San Francisco-bound trains in their underwear.
According to the event’s Facebook invitation page, over 1,000 people participated in the “No Pants Subway Ride” ninth-annual campaign. After meeting at specified spots at 1:30 p.m., they boarded the trains and headed downtown, exposing their private gear for everyone to see. Some kept it simple, wearing solid-colored briefs. Others were a bit more bold, wearing undergarments with different colors, patterns and textures all combined together.
“I was surprised,” said one BART rider. “I had no idea what was going on. But I guess that’s the beauty of San Francisco. It’s diverse, and anything can happen at any point in time.”
Though the exposure of men and women’s underwear in full bloom sidetracked and shocked many people, it happened to be a planned event, and has been since 2001.
Improv Everywhere, a New York-based organization is behind “No Pants Subway Ride.” Charlie Todd, the founder of Improv Everywhere, said in the group’s Web site that he believes a prank doesn’t have to involve humiliation or embarrassment, but that it can simply be about making someone laugh, smile or stop to notice the world around them.
Forty-three cities from around the world in 16 countries played-in on Sunday’s festivity, including Boston, Chicago, New York and Toronto.