OMEN
07-14-2008, 08:18 PM
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Police were called to break up a mass "mooning" after 8,000 turned up to bare their bottoms at passing trains
The Mooning Amtrak event in the California town of Laguna Niguel was shut down for the first time in its 29-year history after complaints that people were showing more than their bums, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Jim Amormino, a police spokesman, said officials deemed the event out of control after some mooners began taking all their clothes off and women started lifting up their T-shirts to flash passing trains.
The tradition is said to stem from a pub dare in 1979 when a drinker at the nearby Mugs Away Saloon promised his friends drinks if they went out to the railway line and mooned the next passing train.
Many rose to the challenge and the mass moon became a regular event, complete with a website, moonamtrak.org.
Held on the second Saturday in July, the event has attracted a growing number of participants over recent years.
The crowd was broken up around 3pm but some mooners returned later and continued dropping their trousers into the night at the Amtrak and Metrolink trains which pass every 20 minutes.
In the website's frequently asked questions section, organisers say it is "okay" to "decorate your butt" and encourage obese attendees to come along: "Yes yes, please 'moon' with us. We need people like you for the extra high intensity mooning you can provide."
There is also a disclaimer warning that "attending this event may be hazardous due to the large concentration of silly people" and that everyone is responsible for their own actions.
"There is no one to sue. No one is carrying public liability insurance for this. Besides, would any insurance underwriter insure an event called Mooning Amtrak?"
NOVA
Police were called to break up a mass "mooning" after 8,000 turned up to bare their bottoms at passing trains
The Mooning Amtrak event in the California town of Laguna Niguel was shut down for the first time in its 29-year history after complaints that people were showing more than their bums, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Jim Amormino, a police spokesman, said officials deemed the event out of control after some mooners began taking all their clothes off and women started lifting up their T-shirts to flash passing trains.
The tradition is said to stem from a pub dare in 1979 when a drinker at the nearby Mugs Away Saloon promised his friends drinks if they went out to the railway line and mooned the next passing train.
Many rose to the challenge and the mass moon became a regular event, complete with a website, moonamtrak.org.
Held on the second Saturday in July, the event has attracted a growing number of participants over recent years.
The crowd was broken up around 3pm but some mooners returned later and continued dropping their trousers into the night at the Amtrak and Metrolink trains which pass every 20 minutes.
In the website's frequently asked questions section, organisers say it is "okay" to "decorate your butt" and encourage obese attendees to come along: "Yes yes, please 'moon' with us. We need people like you for the extra high intensity mooning you can provide."
There is also a disclaimer warning that "attending this event may be hazardous due to the large concentration of silly people" and that everyone is responsible for their own actions.
"There is no one to sue. No one is carrying public liability insurance for this. Besides, would any insurance underwriter insure an event called Mooning Amtrak?"
NOVA