On Sunday 7th January 2018, thousands of people stripped to their innerwear on the subways in New York City. The annual No Pants Subway Ride has become a tradition for many brave people in the city, who not only take off their pants in front of their fellow passengers but also battle the freezing cold. The 17th Annual No Pants Subway Ride took place in New York in frigid 17F degree weather and the event was spread across seven meeting points and eleven subways. The event kicked off at 3 pm on Sunday with the commuters meeting at United Station.

The No Pants Subway Ride is an annual event where people ride the subway while they are not wearing pants. The event is organized by Improv Everywhere and has coordinators in cities around the world. It takes place each year in early January; the date is announced in December on its official website.

The participants were quite excited about being a part of this. “I don’t like pants anyway,” said a commuter, Deli Meehan in a report. Further, a 27-year-old student was quoted in the same report, “My legs are little numb right now, but I am pushing through. Can’t let a little cold weather stop us. I am proud to be out here today, freezing my tail off with all these awesome people. We are fearless!” The event was followed by a massive East Coast snowstorm that threatened to bring record-breaking low temperatures. Snow still covered the ground as the participants were dancing and jumping around to stay warm.

The first ride began in 2002 with seven riders, all males in New York City. In the year 2006, the participation whooped to 150. In January 2016 for the first time, the event happened in Moscow, Russia. The participants were investigated by the police under the offense of the “instigating of mass public disorder." However, there are opinions that the accusations would not stand ground since the organizers' goal is to make people laugh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 10, 2018 09:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).