The return of the annual ‘No Trousers Tube Ride’ spreads humor, spontaneity, and body positivity while riding public transit in their underwear.
To appear as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, hundreds of Londoners descended into the Underground on Sunday afternoon, undressed to their underwear, and wandered around for a while.
While throngs gathered at the Waterloo station and a group of women wearing colored knickers kicked their legs with lifted arms, hordes of naked legs were on display at Newport Place in Chinatown before continuing on to the Tube in their preferred underwear.
A 40-year-old personal trainer, Davdi Selkirk, said, “There’s so much bad, so much not fun going on. It’s nice to do something just for the sake of it.”
What’s the purpose?
A fun and unique event, the No Trousers Tube Ride (sometimes called the No Pants Subway Ride) started in New York City in 2002 as a practical joke by the comedic company Improv Everywhere brought by local comedian Charlie Todd.
His idea was, “Wouldn’t it be funny if someone walked onto subway train in the middle of winter wearing a hat, gloves, a scarf, everything but pants?’
Todd added, ‘You know it’s meant to be a bit of harmless fun. Certainly we are living in a climate where, you know, people like to have culture war fights.My rule in New York was always that the goal of this event is to amuse other people, to give people a laugh.It’s not meant to be provocative; it’s not to irritate someone. So hopefully that the spirit continues’.
Since then, the event has expanded to become a worldwide phenomenon, with participants from 60 cities, including Tokyo, Berlin, and London. London hosted it in 2009.
The purpose of the event is to encourage individuals to participate in a harmless practical joke that makes other people laugh and smile.
Another way to think about the No Trousers Tube Ride is as a type of public performance art.
It creates a unique but unforgettable experience by surprising people and igniting conversations and reactions.
The event’s ultimate goals are to have fun, share joy, and encourage people to not take life too seriously, even if it has no strong political or social objective.
People’s reaction to the ‘No trousers tube ride’
The event is amusing and interesting to many onlookers. When people boldly enter public transportation sans pants, it frequently sparks laughter, smiles, and even cheers. Some travelers record movies or take pictures to post on social media.
On a chilly winter afternoon, Basil Long, a lawyer, arrived at the meeting spot wearing a down jacket and cap.However, after exploring the Tube’s warm tunnels, he changed into pink underpants, Underground-themed socks, and a white blouse with striking rainbow stripes.
He said, “ I just saw it online, and I just thought, why not? He added, “When someone asks why people climb Everest, they simply say, Why not?”
Some women saw it as an event of accepting their own bodies as they are and shouldn’t be ashamed of their shape. Like Miriam Correa said, “All bodies are perfect.”
