Why No Pants? Pranks for the Memories

May 11, 2008 — -- The 10-year-olds on the Mudcats and Lugnuts thought they were just playing in a regular Little League game -- until scores of fans showed up along with food vendors, mascots, T.V. announcers and even the Goodyear blimp.

It was the latest of 75 pranks pulled off by Charlie Todd and his "agents."

Todd, 29, has staged a synchronized swimming display in a New York City fountain, a bingo game on the subway and even planted a tuxedo-clad bathroom attendant at a McDonald's.

Todd belongs to a group called Improv Everywhere, which has been very successful in pulling off public and sometimes shocking pranks.

To see more of the comical missions Charlie and his "agents" have done check out their Web site at www.Improveverywhere.com.

The pranks pulled by the Improv Everywhere crew have no victims, aside from themselves.

"A lot of the things we do, we're the ones that act like fools," Todd says.

When asked why he continues to create pranks such as the Grand Central Station freeze, in which his crew stood frozen in place at New York's Grand Central Station, Todd says, "It's just for the sake of doing it."

"I get excited about coming up with a crazy idea and then making it happen," he says. "We try to do pranks that are more about just being hilarious and making somebody laugh or smile and giving somebody an awesome story to tell."

Improv Everywhere has continued a pattern of unusual behavior since 2001.

In this year's seventh annual "No Pants Day," 900 New Yorkers took part in only wearing undergarments on the subway and acting completely normal when questioned by other riders.

"I tell people, if someone comes up to you and says, 'Seriously, what's going on?' You're just supposed to say, 'I forgot my pants,'" Todd says.

The New York-based group is being recognized globally. More than 10 million viewers watched the Grand Central Station freeze stunt on YouTube.

So what's the new idea for this crazy prankster? He's not telling.