History of Streaking

(According to Wikipedia.org)

The first recorded incident of streaking by a college student in the United States occurred in 1804 at then Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) when senior George William Crump was arrested for running nude through Lexington, Virginia, where the university is located. Robert E. Lee later sanctioned streaking as a rite of passage for young Washington and Lee gentlemen. Crump was suspended for the academic session, and would later go on to become a U.S. Congressman and Ambassador to Chile.

When and where streaking on campus started is unknown. Streaking seems to have been well-established on some campuses by the mid-1960s. Time magazine in December 1973 called streaking "a growing Los Angeles-area fad" that was "catching on among college students and other groups." A letter writer responded.

(According to streakerama.com)

By March 1974, US university students were tired of phone booth cramming, pole sitting, and goldfish swallowing, as, indeed, were the phone booths, poles and goldfish. In what we in the industry call a bloody great coincidence, around the same time students became excited at the idea of co-educational colleges. So excited, in fact, that they decided to run around naked in public. Naturally, thousands of people saw the sense in this, and followed suit.

The craze spread across the world, and soon began to invade sporting fixtures, where the opportunity for maximum exposure proved too good to resist. In the process, it became a mainstay of popular culture. While the craze peaked in '74, it was never entirely stamped out, and has continued to appear occasionally ever since.

(According to the-declaration.com)

The Greeks were the first to streak. Back before the Olympics could be bribed away to other cities, athletes would display their manliness by racing naked in front of Athenian crowds.

Today, geeks streak the lawn as often as Greeks, and girls joined the game when streaking became popular in the 70s. The goals vary -- relief from tension, initiation into a fraternity, continuance of tradition, shock value -- but the potential results can be as serious as a misdemeanor charge, or even the loss of various bodily appendages to a chain fence.

Streaking first became popular at Florida State University in 1974, and was a nationwide craze in time for winter. Time magazine noted "Streakers generally race nude between two unpredictable points, and the idea is catching on among college students and other groups." The fad signaled a return of peace to the campuses of the nation, but also a decline of student concern for the social problems that had elicited their protests in recent years.

(According to badfads.com)

In the Spring of 1974, on the sunny college campuses of Florida and Southern California, the fad of streaking began. Some did it to cure boredom, while others claimed it was an expression of personal liberation. Whatever the reasoning, streaking became a part of everyday campus life and eventually spread to other public arenas. Some did it as a political protest. One young man darted through the state legislative chamber of Hawaii proclaiming himself, "the Streaker of the House." Another exhibitionist streaked for the impeachment of President Nixon in Washington D.C. Those who did it purely for fun tried more creative methods of streaking. Streakers biked across campus at the University of South Carolina, and at the University of Georgia streakers parachuted out of airplanes.