The No Pants Subway Ride meme stems from the annual global event started in 2002 by the New York City-based prank collective Improv Everywhere. The event involves participants riding the subway in their underwear during the winter while acting as if it were a perfectly normal day, often leading to confused and hilarious reactions from regular commuters. In the world of internet memes, images from these rides are used to represent situations where someone is blissfully ignoring a glaringly obvious problem, or to depict social anxiety and the feeling of being exposed. It serves as a visual metaphor for 'acting natural' while something is clearly out of place or missing.