The No Pants Dance

Photo: Chad Nicholson, www.chadnicholsonphotography.com

"Honestly, I might be an exhibitionist," said Chris Scott, a 25-year-old medical-office worker from Brooklyn, who rode the subway in blue polka-dotted boxers in Saturday's seventh annual No Pants Subway Ride, organized by public-comedy group Improv Everywhere. "I just wanted to see how people would react if different people kept getting on the same subway car in their underwear, stop after stop, and acting as if everything was normal," said Improv member and No Pants founder Charlie Todd. So how do they react? While some riders encountered "fuck-yous" and disapproving glares, for the most part, partici-pants told New York that people just laughed. Which is the point. "Really, all we're going for is a laugh and a smile, and perhaps a moment of questioning your sanity," said Todd. Scott, who loved the feeling of stale subway-car air against his bare legs so much that after it was over, he rode the L train back home sans trousers, said that while some of the reactions he got were "priceless," the response was less surprising than he'd thought. "The whole thing was kind of normal," he said. "For some reason people look at me funny anyways." —Julie Gerstein