Free Republic

AN American tourist who ran naked through a peaceful Swiss town, vandalised a church and escaped from police clutches by jumping into a lake could have been on hallucinogenic mushrooms, a local magistrate said today. The 34-year-old man from Massachussetts, who has since been allowed to return home, ran amok in the western town of Morges, by Lake Geneva, two weeks ago. He started babbling incoherently in the hotel lobby, stripped and ran naked along the quayside, broke a stained glass window in the nearby protestant temple with a stool and set a precious 1898 bible alight, police in Morges...

SUFFOLK - A naked man clutching a pigeon was arrested over the weekend after beating the bird against a car. Two Whaleyville residents had just pulled into their driveway Friday night when Juan Lopez, 30, of Kellam Road in Virginia Beach came up and repeatedly pounded the pigeon on the car, police said. The people got out of the car and went to a neighbor's house, where they called the police.

There's never been a better time to skinny dip, play tennis au natural, or Jet Ski in the raw. It's "Nude Recreation Week" and America's fast-growing network of 260 clothing-optional resorts offer an ever-expanding list of outdoor activities for nudists. Since 1992, the $400 million nude vacationing industry has tripled in size. There are now clothing-optional hotels and time-share condos in nearly every major tourist destination, nude cruises, and in-the-buff charter flights that won't let you fly by the seat of your pants. "I think Americans are waking up to the peace and serenity that comes with taking off your...

Students wrapping up school in the southwestern Swedish town of Vänersborg were in for a surprise last week when two of their teachers stripped off their clothes and danced with balloons over their nether regions. The two male teachers, during an end-of-the-year celebration, performed what Swedes call the “Balloon Dance,” for 140 ninth grade students. “I was shocked when my daughter told me,” said a mother of a student to newspaper GT. The principle of the school has spoken with the teachers regarding the dance. Another teacher at the school said it would have been unsuitable for teachers to have...

June 10, 2006 was the date for the World Naked Bike Ride, which -- as its name suggests -- is an international political event at which protesters take off all their clothes and ride bicycles through various cities around the globe. The focus of the protest is theoretically to encourage people to give up their "dependence on fossil fuel" -- but in practice the messages (which the organizers tell participants to paint directly on their bodies) are more scattered, ranging from "free speech" to presidential politics. I attended the San Francisco version of the event, which started at noon in...

MARCH 24--Meet Natalie Peterson. The 23-year-old Utah woman was arrested yesterday afternoon when she showed up naked to take a shower in a stranger's home. According to cops, prior to Peterson wandering into the home in Roy, she had been in an argument at a relative's house. There, she stripped off her clothes and jumped into her '98 Ford Escort and drove off. A half mile away, Peterson walked into a house occupied by three young siblings, who she ordered to leave "her home." Peterson told the trio she was going to take a shower and headed for the basement....

London - British detectives said on Monday they had launched an inquiry into claims that police staff had been selling close-up pictures of a huge group of naked people who took part in a photo shoot for a United States artist. Around 1 700 volunteers stripped off last July in Newcastle, north-eastern England, for an installation by New York-based contemporary artist Spencer Tunick, known worldwide for his photographs of massed groups of naked people. "We've spoken to a number of officers and police staff and as a result two (civilian) members of police staff have been suspended," the force's Deputy...

From hot spots to cold bots, here are Lonely Planet's ideas for where to shed your clothesOnsen antics, Japan Soaking in onsen (natural, mineral-rich hot springs) is a centuries-old health-giving tradition in which most Japanese immerse themselves. Onsen etiquette prescribes that the soaker washes thoroughly before entering the male or female bathing area. When walking around, you should cover your private parts with tiny towels and, once in, don’t make waves. Some onsen waters are also for drinking, so check before you gulp. And some don’t allow bathers with tattoos. * The 300 Club, Antarctica Initiation to the 300 Club...

NEW YORK (AP) - It was one of those "only in New York" moments: Two coffins, laid out in the middle of Times Square in a cold rain, with the naked bodies of a man and a woman in them - talking. Their message was: Some clothes sold in America are made with fur that comes from animals allegedly tortured in China. "Animals are skinned alive in China, because it's cheaper than to kill them humanely," said Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, opening her eyes as she shivered in a black cardboard coffin, with...

NEW YORK, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Naked parties appear to be the latest fad to streak across East Coast universities, it was reported Tuesday. After apparently gaining a foothold at Brown and Yale, the fad has caught on at New York's Columbia University, the New York Sun reported. All the parties have one thing in common -- all articles of clothing are left at the door. Among the reportedly banned items are cameras, masks and "spikey things," the newspaper said. Students told the Sun the parties are more social than sexual. One Columbia student said he was surprised the trend...

A naked man was accidentally shocked in the genitals by a Taser after he was found breaking windows and asking women to touch him in appropriately, police said. Jeremy J. Miljour, 26, of Bonita Springs, attempted to run when approached by Lee County sheriff's deputies Saturday. When he ignored requested to stop, Deputy Daniel Hollywood shot Miljour with a Taser. One of the Taser prongs accidentally hit Miljour's genitals and got stuck, said Cpl. Matt Chitwood. Officers are taught to aim for the torso, but it was difficult for officers to aim because Miljour was moving, Chitwood said. "The Taser...

An autopsy has been ordered for a Lafayette parish man who died after jumping out of his second-story window naked. Witnesses say after the 23-year-old landed, he proceeded to ram his head against a wooden fence several times. Police tell KATC he became hostile with them and bystanders; so the deputy on the scene used an electronic restraining device to calm him down. He was treated for the self-inflicted injuries to his head, but 10-hours later died at the hospital.

CORPUS CHRISTI - A naked teenager who managed to escape from authorities Thursday afternoon is still on the loose. The sheriff's department was transporting the 16-year old to the Juvenile Justice Center on Gollihar about 5:30 this afternoon when he somehow managed to get loose. Police have had no luck tracking him down. A field along Ayers was the focus of the search for quite a while, but at this hour the search has been called off. Officials wouldn't tell 6 News a whole lot about the escape, but at the time the 16-year got loose, he was wearing what's...

All the Naked News That’s Fit to Print Clearfield,Utah: A 51 year-old Sunset, Utah man, who, it is alleged, has a certain fondness for appearing nude in public , was charged with lewdness after entering a local convenience store- wearing nothing but a tentative smile. Not content with that achievement,he reportedly made a trip –au naturel-past the drive-in window at a fast food restaurant. After being arrested and released on recognizance, the intrepid flasher telephoned the convenience store,asked permission to enter the store naked,and tried to talk employees out of testifying against him. Store personnel called the police-who watched as...

No Shirt, No Shoes and No Pants Means Jail Sat Oct 8, 8:36 PM ET CLEARFIELD, Utah - No shirt, no shoes — and no pants — has landed a Utah man in legal trouble. Last month the 51-year-old Sunset man allegedly entered a local convenience store in the buff on multiple occasions. Clearfield Police say in August he also made a trip through a restaurant drive-thru, au naturel. City prosecutors have charged the man in justice court with misdemeanor lewdness. But now the Davis County District Attorney's office is investigating allegations of witness tampering, which could result in third-degree...

DARLINGTON, S.C. - Police responding to an alarm at a cash advance business found a naked man hanging from the ceiling early Thursday morning. An officer answering the alarm noticed tiles, insulation, wires and metal braces hanging from the roof and on the floor of the Check 'n Go, Darlington Police Lt. Danny Watson said. A naked man with scrapes all over his body then dropped from the ceiling and tried to open the front door and leave, according to a police report. "He had a charming story to go along with it though. He said somebody threw his keys...

Oglers surround protesters Topless women on skates, bikes and foot drew a surging crowd of grateful gawkers in Columbus Circle yesterday when they doffed their shirts to affirm the right to bare a lot more than arms. The 10 or so women gathered and showed nearly all to protest the arrest of Jill (Phoenix) Feeley, who said she was taken into custody this month after going half naked on the lower East Side. But Feeley and friends soon found out that taking such a revealing stance in New York can be risky. "It got hot, then it got rainy," said...

SAN FRANCISCO - Waterborne weenie waving has become an unwanted side dish at a waterside restaurant in a popular tourist haunt across the bay from San Francisco, the manager lamented humorously. "Most of the diners think it is quite comical," Jeff Scharosch, manager of The Spinnaker restaurant in the town of Sausalito, said. "First, they can't believe anyone is actually swimming in the bay, which is cold and not the cleanest," he continued. "Then, when they find out he is not wearing anything, it becomes more of a scene." Local police have been called several times, but the aquatic exhibitionist...

Syrian born artist, Hala Faisal, protests the war in Iraq and the occupation of Palestine by appearing in the nude with anti-war slogans written in both English and Arabic, in Washington Square Park Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005, in New York City. Faisal was arrested by New York City police. (AP Photo/Ramin Talaie)

Glimpses of possible nudity at lunch hour -- police have received calls of alarm. Always on the lookout for sea lions, diners at the Spinnaker restaurant on the fashionable Sausalito waterfront have recently been catching alarming glimpses of a mysterious creature flapping around in the murky water. A naked man has reportedly been swimming in full view of patrons enjoying lunch beside the restaurant's panoramic windows. "The man apparently likes to swim in front of the Spinnaker restaurant and, in what you might call a strategic move, he likes to roll over in front of the guests," said City...