Take off your pants!
January 10, 2010 2:47 PM   Subscribe

 
For the Brit readers: are these pants as in trousers or pants as in knickers? The image doesn't help.
posted by A189Nut at 2:51 PM on January 10, 2010


Trousers.
posted by hattifattener at 2:54 PM on January 10, 2010


This is one of those events where a bunch of young people demonstrate how quirky and unique they are by doing the same thing as a horde of people just like themselves.
posted by jonmc at 2:55 PM on January 10, 2010 [8 favorites]


THIS IS A PARTICIPATORY EVENT. DO NOT SHOW UP UNLESS YOU PLAN TO TAKE YOUR PANTS OFF.

This so often goes unsaid.
posted by found missing at 2:56 PM on January 10, 2010 [20 favorites]




Maybe this was zany and fun the first time, but even just reading through the rules and discussion of how to orchestrate it felt wearisome to me, like the guy at the party working waaaay to hard to be funny and charming.
posted by availablelight at 3:01 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


Ladies and gentlemen
Take my advice
Pull down your pants
And slide on the ice
posted by fixedgear at 3:03 PM on January 10, 2010


I shall go, not take my pants off, point, laugh, make rude remarks, and take pictures...
posted by HuronBob at 3:09 PM on January 10, 2010


I shall go, not take my pants off, point, laugh, make rude remarks, and take pictures...

...and also, the "slackjawed dudes leering unironically at girls in panties" aspect of the posted video made me not too excited about participating myself. I mean, usually you have to buy me dinner first, amirite?
posted by availablelight at 3:12 PM on January 10, 2010


I understand it was supposed to be MONKEY NINJA BANANA fun, but the movie came out rather leery--the majority of the shots were panning up and down the legs of attractive young women in their underwear or creepy old dudes staring at the attractive young women in their underwear. Yeah, there were dudes thrown in . . . But mostly young women in their underwear. Kind of leery, if you ask me.
posted by Anonymous at 3:12 PM on January 10, 2010


JINX, schroedinger!
posted by availablelight at 3:14 PM on January 10, 2010


Part of the interesting-ness of the first few runs was that nobody expected anything and it was supposed to leave people with a story: "You won't believe this, but I saw three separate people on my ride home today who had forgot their pants. It was so funny, how the hell would that happen?" But now, like so many recent ImprovEverywhere events, it's scheduled, overblown, and -- most importantly -- known. In one of the recent ones (2008 maybe), there were news cameras waiting for it to start up. It ruins the entire thing. Scheduled spontaneity sucks.
posted by flatluigi at 3:15 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


But now, like so many recent ImprovEverywhere events, it's scheduled, overblown, and -- most importantly -- known.

The old folks in my church choir were talking about it today- "There's going to be this thing on the subway today where nobody wears pants!" Definitely known.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:17 PM on January 10, 2010 [3 favorites]


But, don't take me for a hater on ImprovEverywhere. The mp3 experiments are the best way to incorporate how large the whole thing has got in a still interesting way by keeping the spectators out of the loop and unaware of whatever's happening next.
posted by flatluigi at 3:17 PM on January 10, 2010


Nice juxtaposition of H&M trashes unsold pants with no pants subway ride posts, though.
posted by fixedgear at 3:24 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


"the majority of the shots were panning up and down the legs of attractive young women in their underwear...."

yeah? what's your point???
posted by HuronBob at 3:24 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


I'm getting tired of Improv Everywhere's staged wackiness. Especially after listening to this episode of "This American Life'. Everyone involved seems to desperately want to be seen as so crazy and off the wall.

Flash Mobs can leave as well. Flash Mobs are old now. I saw a video recently of one on a crowded beach. One single fat nerd starts dancing, a hot chick joins in. All these people on the beach looking around like "WTF" until they all get up and dance and I realise that the entire beach is a giant flash mob dancing for their own amusement.

I'm all for spontenaity and bringing joy into the world but both these things are old.

posted by AzzaMcKazza at 3:28 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


I kind of like that it's becoming a sort of holiday. I'd rather celebrate pantslessness than Jesus.
posted by jnaps at 3:36 PM on January 10, 2010 [5 favorites]


We can expect the authorities to turn the trains around and return to their station with military escort and all pantsless riders will be subject to Federal prosecution...
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:40 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


I realise that the entire beach is a giant flash mob dancing for their own amusement.

How awful that must have been for you.
posted by mediareport at 4:02 PM on January 10, 2010 [5 favorites]


We can expect the authorities to turn the trains around and return to their station with military escort and all pantsless riders will be subject to Federal prosecution...

They'll be given medals for pre-emptive compliance with the new TSA rules for underwear bombers. Add in no bathroom breaks, and they could pretend they are on airplanes.
posted by Forktine at 4:02 PM on January 10, 2010


This is one of those events where a bunch of young people demonstrate how quirky and unique they are by doing the same thing as a horde of people just like themselves.

Or they're just doing something fun because it's fun and your practiced pose of cynical condescension toward people who aren't as hip as you was tired a decade ago.
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:16 PM on January 10, 2010 [8 favorites]


Well, it was new for San Francisco anyway. At least I think so. Here are some shots from SF.
posted by ohyouknow at 4:21 PM on January 10, 2010


I attended the Seattle version of this. It seemed to me that about two-thirds of the ridership of the Link Light Rail, for a couple of hours this afternoon, was pantsless.

Because pants-free riders were so overwhelmingly in the majority, and because this event is indeed more widely known these days, it didn't have the surreality of the original NYC ride. Most people were in on the joke. So, to a certain extent, it ended up just being about having fun running around without pants. And, really, it's hard to see anything wrong with that. It says great things for humanity that so many people are willing to turn out on a chilly Sunday afternoon to support the cause of pantslessness.
posted by fermion at 4:44 PM on January 10, 2010 [2 favorites]


Metafilter: DO NOT SHOW UP UNLESS YOU PLAN TO TAKE YOUR PANTS OFF.

(pics from DC)
posted by genehack at 4:51 PM on January 10, 2010


It never ceases to amaze me how many people would never dare do something, until someone else does it and makes it "safe" or "official" or whatever, and now all these never-dare people are willing to do it, as if somehow doing it when it's safe carries the same cachet. I suppose in their mind, it does. Bah.
posted by davejay at 5:03 PM on January 10, 2010




This is one of those events where a bunch of young people demonstrate how quirky and unique they are by doing the same thing as a horde of people just like themselves.


No, the hordes wear pants. Look outside, you'll see them.
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:39 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


This is one of those events where a bunch of young people demonstrate how quirky and unique they are by doing the same thing as a horde of people just like themselves.

Or they're just doing something fun because it's fun and your practiced pose of cynical condescension toward people who aren't as hip as you was tired a decade ago.


"That pose it out, too, Sunny Jim. The new thing is to care passionately and be right wing."
posted by Herodios at 5:48 PM on January 10, 2010


i think it would be fucking cool to show up to a flash mob AND ROB EVERYBODY
posted by Hammond Rye at 5:51 PM on January 10, 2010 [2 favorites]


incidentally, a couple years ago when the idiotarod route went past my apartment i put on my boxing gloves, stood at the end of the pulaski bridge and punched people. everyone thought it was all in good fun and gave me free booze. but punching them felt good.
posted by Hammond Rye at 5:56 PM on January 10, 2010 [2 favorites]


Just returned form the NYC event. After riding the subway and rebuffing the questions of many, many passers by with "well, I gave all my pants to charity" or "I take my scripture very literally," or things like that, I went and danced my ass off at a bar with a couple dozen other pantsles people, and had a wonderful time.

So, haters, maybe it's not original anymore, maybe it's not cutting-edge, but it sure was fun and if that offends your sense of hipster faux-authenticity, you can suck our dicks. Which is much easier than normal, of course, because we aren't wearing pants.
posted by Jon_Evil at 6:19 PM on January 10, 2010 [5 favorites]


So many of us want to take off our pants. We're just waiting for someone to say it's OK.
posted by bowline at 6:21 PM on January 10, 2010


I just saw two pantless people (one male, one female) on the subway at 10:30 p.m. Did they really walk around without pants for 7.5 hours? Don't you get real cold after awhile?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:53 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


Look at this fucking hipster's junk.
posted by intermod at 8:50 PM on January 10, 2010


LMPO
posted by aftermarketradio at 8:59 PM on January 10, 2010


LATFHJ
posted by xorry at 9:25 PM on January 10, 2010


Yawn. I did this nine years ago.
posted by Captaintripps at 9:25 PM on January 10, 2010


This was kinda funny the first time they did it, back in 2004 or whatever.

Not so much now.
posted by Target Practice at 1:52 AM on January 11, 2010


Having said that, I enjoyed some of Improv Everywhere's early stunts. The Moebius was particularly inspired.
posted by Target Practice at 2:01 AM on January 11, 2010


I'm just glad my two-year-old and I were home from the museum before this began. Not really something I want to try and explain to her nor would I want to try and wrestle with her to keep her pants on in below freezing tenperatures.
posted by Pollomacho at 5:43 AM on January 11, 2010


Not really something I want to try and explain to her

"Those people are being silly by pretending they forgot their pants. I know, in this cold it's silly, but sometimes people like to be a little silly. As long as no one gets hurt and they're not breaking the law by being totally naked on the subway, there's nothing wrong with it, really."

What needs trying?
posted by mediareport at 6:57 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]


What exactly is the problem here? It's fun and no one got hurt. Would we really rather live in a world where no one ever rode the subway without pants?

Because just knowing that this sort of thing happens really livens up my day. I don't give a pantsless rat's ass if it's groundbreaking and artful (read "cool according to people who did it back when") or not.
posted by Erroneous at 7:00 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]


Oh, I could really care less if someone wants to take off their pants anytime, anywhere. Strip down naked, I could care less, really, if that is "how you roll" roll on. It's just a little nasty though. I mean, I sometimes cringe from the left over scent of the passenger that sat (shat?) in the seat before me when I'm fully clothed with many winter layers and here you are gonna plop you banana hammock clad booty right down there amongst that? Hey, it's your medical plan, you're young and formerly healthy, might as well give it some use, no?

Now as to the two-year-old, I was thinking more along the lines of, "no, honey, just because those grown-ups are doing it does not mean that you can take your pants off on the subway."
posted by Pollomacho at 7:15 AM on January 11, 2010


I mean, I sometimes cringe from the left over scent of the passenger that sat (shat?) in the seat before me when I'm fully clothed with many winter layers

Just so you know, I meant shat literally. Enjoy your next pantsless ride!

7:14 p.m. An inbound Yellow Line train at Huntington was dispatched late because human waste was found on the train.
posted by Pollomacho at 8:16 AM on January 11, 2010


"But what can I do? There's just nothing I can do to protest the war or torture or anything!"

"Hey, zombie walk/no pants subway ride!"

"AWESOME I AM SO THERE!"
posted by Legomancer at 9:32 AM on January 11, 2010


Pantless zombie walk against torture.
posted by sandraregina at 9:51 AM on January 11, 2010


This event has gotten to big for its own britches.
posted by pianomover at 9:54 AM on January 11, 2010


Pantless zombie walk Critical Mass fixie ride against torture
posted by Pollomacho at 10:14 AM on January 11, 2010


Try not to notice the other pantsless people, unless someone points them out to you. If asked, pretend you have no idea why everyone else has no pants.

This is just generally good advice. Also don't get drawn into conversations with people who are wearing sunglasses missing one lens. No good will come from it.
posted by Babblesort at 11:05 AM on January 11, 2010


That Moebius one is awesome.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:22 PM on January 11, 2010


Pantsless subway ride give us PA dwellers some inspiration. From the comments on a free paper article on the PA LCB:

"If Improv Everywhere could get 1200 people to ride the subway with no pants could we get 1200 people at one time to cross the border to NJ or DE , buy a single bottle of wine or beer, then return to PA, call the State Police and let them book all 1200 of us for breaking the law? I think we could."

Source
posted by fixedgear at 1:33 PM on January 13, 2010


« Older Fly the Friendly Skies   |   Slashing...prices? Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments