Panty raid

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A panty raid is a social prank in which a group of male college students "crash", or intrude upon, a gathering of female college students, ostensibly to steal their "panties" (undergarments) as trophies proving they had been where male students were (at one time) strictly not allowed. The notion of a panty raid dates back at least to the mid-1940s, though the term dates to February, 1949.

The first fully documented incident occurred at this time, when a group of ex-military students planned a strategic raid on one of their university's sorority houses. Because most of the perpetrators had fought in WWII, they utilized battlefield strategy and tactics when planning and executing the "mission."

[edit] Popular culture

Panty raids have been depicted in:

Revenge of the Nerds
Some episodes of Ranma ½, particularly when Happosai makes an appearance.

In the 1992 film: Love Potion No. 9, the leading man is put in jail for what he says is "the little-known panty raid law, prohibiting any male from being in a sorority after 9:00pm."