Each New Year’s Day, a group of warm-blood humans, members all of the Polar Bear Club, descend on the beach at Coney Island and other locales in North America for an icy swim. The tradition, which dates back 1920, is a point of fascination to many non-participants, who wonder what would possess a fellow member of the species to strip down to his bare essentials and challenge the elements.
Global No Pants Subway Ride Day, in contrast, has been around for only a dozen years. The 2013 iteration of the event is scheduled for today, January 13, and will occur in some 60 cities worldwide, ranging from Adelaide to Atlanta, Bankgok to Buenos Aires. The website Improv Everywhere, which organizes the event, has the skinny on participating cities (as with the Polar Bears, New York appears to be the hub), along with the history:
The mission started as a small prank with seven guys and has grown into an international celebration of silliness, with dozens of cities around the world participating each year. The idea behind No Pants is simple: Random passengers board a subway car at separate stops in the middle of winter without pants. The participants do not behave as if they know each other, and they all wear winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. The only unusual thing is their lack of pants.
GNPSRD is not to be confused with No Pants Day, which takes place the first Friday in May, or National Go Topless Day, an annual protest created in 2007 that permits women to get something off their chest – namely clothing.
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