Metro Residents Ride Pantless.

Early Sunday afternoon, Jan. 8, 2012, dozens of metro riders from all walks of life "pantsed" themselves for the world, or the metro system, to see. The colorful array of underwear and bare legs prompted worried looks on the faces of bystanders forced to witness the pants-less crowd. One of those bystanders was a Howard University student.

"I was sitting near the door on my way to Pentagon City when a crowd of overly excited people boarded the train at L'Enfant Plaza," said Brandon Adams, a junior public relations major, "I hadn't paid them any mind until I heard one man begin a countdown. Once the man got to three, everyone starting pulling their shoes and pants off! At that moment I started freaking out because I had no idea what was going on!"

Like Adams, others on the train were perplexed by the panty parade.

It all started 10 years ago on Jan. 5. Seven guys from Improveverywhere.comdecided it would be a good idea to prank the subway system, so each of them stood pant-less at seven consecutive stops and boarded the 6 train in NYC. Initially the people around them reacted nervously, unsure of what these nude crusaders were capable of. Then laughter gradually took its place. Ever since then, the "No Pants Metro/Subway Ride" has been an annual tradition for many fun-loving panty gallivants wanting to stir up the normalcy of everyday living.

The movement has spread world-wide and caught the attention of national and global media. The participants have increased to more than 5,000 people since 2002, and the numbers are still growing.

 So is there a statement being made here? What is the point of it all? And why would people be willing to stand out in public in their underwear in the freezing cold.

I asked all of these questions to a group of people in their underwear and they simply replied, "Because its fun," as if they had been waiting to give that response all day. Interestingly enough, the general public seemed humored and accepting of the vague responses by the participants.

"I asked one guy what happened to his pants and all he said was ‘I forgot them' and he shrugged. I said ‘Okay' and went on about my business." said Howard University junior, physics major Bruce Edison.

As people took their pants off for National No Pants Metro Ride day, a statement was made across the world; Have fun and relax. Young and old people alike, stood around with bare legs in cold weather for the sake of an ingenious prank.