Mp3 Experiment Seven – Thanks!

Mp3 Experiment Seven 2010 Improv Everywhere
Photo by Chad Nicholson

A huge thanks to everyone who came out to The Mp3 Experiment Seven today! Around 4,000 people began the experiment in retail stores in the Midtown area and eventually all converged on Bryant Park.

The experiment ended with a massive “toilet paper mummy” dance party, pictured above. If you were there, share your stories in the comments.

Photos from our official photographers:

– Ari Scott’s Photos
– Brian Fountain’s Photos
– Chad Nicholson’s Photos
– Chad’s 2nd Set (hi res photos from the 24th floor. can you find yourself?)
– Ilya Chigirev’s Photos
– Thomas Robinson’s Photos

It will be a few weeks before we have any video to show, but stay tuned. You can subscribe to our YouTube Channel to be the first to know when it is released. As always, all of today’s music was created by our composer Tyler Walker. Check out his site and buy his brand new album!

UPDATE – VIDEO –

Project page: Mp3 Experiment Seven

Comments

  1. Wow! We had soooo much fun tonight! Sephora kicked us out haha :) What presents did everyone get? I got Superman Returns dvd :)

  3. IT WAS AMAZING!

    While I danced with a sweater in the store, there was a group of women who couldn’t stop smiling at all of us! They just had no idea what was happening. Then when we walked down the sidewalk, doing our silly strides, the police officers started swaying around with us :) So many tourists took photos of the event – while we started clapping to the music and dancing in our mummy-wraps. Unforgettable experience!

    It honestly brought out the best in so many people. I can’t wait for next year <3

  4. It was so fun…immediately after i joined a huge group who danced all the way to the red staircase at Times Square. Can’t wait for the next improv everywhere event :)

  5. HI AMY!<3 that's my cousin who brought me(:

    best day ever , i loved every minute of it . can't wait for next year !

    i got a book and silly bands XD

  6. My favorite part was the slow dancing part…I waltzed with a lovely dress on hangers from H&M. The security person asked us to leave just about the time when the task ended, of course, we gladly left.I also loved the part when everyone froze on the side walk it was quite an experience!

  7. This was my first time attending an mp3 Experiment! Granted, I was a photographer so I didn’t participate, but I listened right along with everyone. (I think I was a few seconds behind though.)

    My photos will be up later–I’ll be uploading them to flickr throughout the night and Charlie will put up the link soon.

    Favorite moments:

    I started out in Champs (sports store) and during the slow dance, a couple employees also started slow dancing with clothing! Also, no one told me to stop photographing, something I had been worried about.

    Seeing a kid (8, 9 yrs old?) wave goodbye to the employees, saying “Bye! Thank you! Thank you!”

    Realizing Charlie reserved the entire Bryant Park lawn.

    Seeing several older couple participate (like, in their 60s or 70s). I LOVE THAT.

    Bumping into Purnell and Devlyn.

    Okay, time to go through the pics! Great job, everyone!

    • If the kid had glasses, I think it was my little guy! He was so excited to participate in our first MP3 Experiment (and so were we!) He was waving and thanking the employees and I thought I saw someone snap a pic in his direction. (Just found him in your photos! He’s the one labeled “one of the youngest participants.” Love all your photos!)

      The employees at Champs were good sports, laughing and shaking their heads as we danced around with tiny infant Nikes.

      We had an amazing time! We loved freezing on the street and running around high-fiving everyone. The word-making was a blast (my son stood on tiptoe to be the “s” with some very tall companions in “to bake pies.”) We also loved the mummy dance.

      We got a movie (The House of Yes), a Miles Davis CD, and my son got a harmonica from another kid, which he loves. We walked back to Times Square to the, ahem, “tune” of him trying to play the opening bars of Piano Man. So funny.

      Everyone we met was SO nice, no one pushing or shoving as we made our way into the park. Thank you to everyone at IE for this event! My little guy is now asking how much longer we have to wait to do the No Pants Subway Ride…

      • Oh, nice! I’m glad I got his picture! I love seeing kids at IE missions.

        Yeah, Champs employees were cool. I’ve been needing a new pair of running shoes and I think I’ll go there. SHOP AT CHAMPS!

  8. My daughter and I again had a blast! Though, this time I managed to start our mp3s incredibly late (I think we were a full minute behind). Eventually we gave up and just followed the crowd, lol! I also started late last year. Apparently I can’t handle clocks, so I think next year I’ll just ask someone else to tell me when to press play ;-)

    It was SO much fun. It’s so great to be in such a huge crowd of people all smiling and happy. And the cops laughing and taking pictures was funny too ;-) I loved the gift idea. My daughter got a stuffed turtle and I got milk hand lotion.

    Thanks tons!

  9. What a fantastic way to end a day! I was quite amused when i heard that we were converging on Bryany Park – I work 1/2 a block frm the park, and it is a lovely place for a picnic or to take the kids. Who knew that it would work so well for a Zombie Dance Party? Thanks, IE, for such a pleasant memory.

  10. this was really so much fun.
    slowdancing with the stuffed animals at sanrio was probably a highlight of my life.

  11. I’m on the train home now and boy does my feet hurt! We bad a blast today! While I slow danced with a dress a sales person came up and complimented on what a pretty dress it was lol. I loved having to search for a $21 item in a very expensive store so me and this other guy high fived each other when we found $25 Nail Polish that was 30-50% off lol

    I wore a Pikachu shirt to today’s event and one guy saw me and insisted I took his present which were old Pokemon cards which cracked me up. I can’t wait for next year!

  12. So we started out in Staples … when we walked in the greeter said “you just have 10 minutes” which we thought was an inside joke for us since it was 10 minutes until the launch of the mp3. Ha! Actually…Staples was closing at 6:00. We rushed to Ann Taylor and made it in time for the start of the experiment (with at least 50 other “shoppers”).

    We had sooo much fun tonight! My wife and I brought her mom out, and we had a blast being silly for an entire hour. We even split our earbuds with some new friends that we met during the experience (Hi Lauren and Katie!).

    Definitely looking forward to seeing the video and then participating again next time! MUMMY DANCE! :)

    • I (and a good few dozen others) were still in said Staples for the first part of the experiment. I must not have heard the 10-minute warning.

  13. This is the second IE event I had to attend by myself because my friends are boring and don’t know how to have any fun. The first being the 2009 No Pants Subway Ride. Either way, I had a blast!!! My favorite part was freezing in place in the streets. I’ve always wanted to freeze in place ever since watching the freezing in place in Grand Central video, but I never thought I’d be able to do so until today. I had a great time and I can’t wait for the next IE mission!!!

  14. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Thank you to Charlie and all of the organizers. Thank you to Bryant Park and all of the Cops. Thank you to the City of New York. Thank you the guy who gave me more foam earplugs than I’ll ever need in my life and to the girl who drew a /stunning/ picture of me. Thank you to the fellow Couchsurfers – so lovely to meet you all. Thank you to the bystanders – your reactions were priceless. Thank you to the retail stores for being good sports. And THANK YOU to ALL of the participants…this event is nothing without the participants. Even better? I am so happy that we all cleaned up the toilet paper without leaving a mess…GREAT teamwork there and it reconfirmed my faith in humanity. :-)

    Words can’t even begin to describe what a wonderful time I had for my second Mp3 Experiment. Looking forward to my third…

    A million times over…THANK YOU!

  15. This was my 3rd Improv Mission and it never gets old. Dancing with a sweater in H&M was so funny. One guy even danced with a manequin. I think the best part though was the dancing mob to Times Square as we celebrated a womans wedding. She threw the bouquet and we made a human bridge for her to go under. Hopefully we made her day memorable. Btw thanks to the guy who gave me a Remembrall. Best gift ever!

    • I was there for that!!!!!!!! following the boombox man chanting “steve! steve!” haha people were like “who’s steve??!?” Yea there were two weddings :) <3

  16. This was such a great time!!!

    My first time participating in an IE event, and it won’t be the last!! We started out in an Asian bookstore across the street from Bryant Part, and it there were a TON of other participants, which was great!! The non-participants were so incredibly confused!!!

    Can’t wait to see the pictures and video!!!

  17. Oh my goodness, that was really fun. We started at the upstairs of H and M, almost every single person in the store was part of the experiment! I laughed so hard slowdancing with a shirt. An employee was on the phone to the downstairs employees, saying, “What’s going on?? What are these people doing!” I loved what we did in Bryant Park although its scary (on the world maps) how many people thought USA was a continent… :/ Anyway, see you next year!!

  18. I was at an alum event right before this started and was frantically making my way there when six struck! I started playing the Mp3 and strolled into the nearest store once I got there. Made it midway through the $21 hunt! I had such a lovely time. Dancing around with clothes, freezing, and following a poor dude on the street (he actually tried to escape), and everything else.

    The ninja-ing around Bryant Park was hilarious. The bystanders were just so confused/amused and pointing to the people dodging behind trashcans. I’m not a big fan of being trapped in giant crowds, but everyone was friendly and silly, which certainly helped to silence my urge to crawl away towards freedom. During the letter scramble (oh, why did I pick “U” as my vowel?), I got to be the K in “HI KOALA.” Yeah, koalas are pretty awesome.

    And a giant thank you for the guys who gave me Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin and the yoyo!

    • Lol. KOALA!!! I was the last “A” in the KOALA.

      If only we found a “P”. HIP KOALA would’ve rocked!

      • hey, I was one of the girls who made this word =-) I was the one in yellow that put the words together :)

  19. This was my first time participating in an improv everywhere scenario and i thought it was amazing! i wanted to go so badly that after trying to invite friends i just gave up and went on my own.

    got to the GAP around 5:30 and stayed upstairs, looking around and wondering if that person with the headphones is with us or not. About 10 minutes before 6 the store got SUPER crowded but it made it all the more fun. i loved running around trying to find specific items, fixing up the store, and dancing with shirts. however, it was so crowded that a lot of us didn’t make it out of the store in time to freeze on the street!

    i loved the gift giving. i gave a pack of lip gloss and set of Magic the Gathering cards and received a collection of silly postcards.

    and yes. my map also had USA as a continent…

    • I saw a guy with a map that said, florida and another one that said North Pole with a Santa drawn in it :P

  20. This is the 2nd mp3 experiment I have attended. It was too much fun. The ppl at sephora were quite upset that we were dancing around with their products and kicked us out towards the end. A lot of people on the street were taking pics of us being frozen and weird dancing etc. Cant wait for next year’s experiment !!!

  22. I should also add that I chose “F” and “U” for my letters. I was looking for someone with a “C” and a “K” but couldn’t find anyone, (I also didn’t think that it would have been appropriate) but I eventually found two wonderful people who had “G” “L” and “Y” so we all spelled out “FUGLY”. It was great!

  23. I loved the mp3 experiment this year. I started at the AT&T store and got to slow dance with an iPhone 4. I hope she’ll call me back.

    FYI Canada is not a continent….
    And thx to the girl who gave me the Trident and eye drops from her purse. The tea I gave you came all the way from India :)

  24. Holy Crap it was sooooo much fun and so funny to see other people’s confused reactions… can’t wait for next years!! :D

  25. This was such a liberating and exciting experience. I came all the way from Hartford, CT just to be part of this MP3 experience. It was so well worth it. So, wheres Steves afterparty! THANKS!

  26. SO much fun, especially the faces on all the uptight salesgirls at BCBG! Good luck finding something for 21 bucks in that joint!

    • I was in BCBG… the girls on the floor were horrified…. they looked scared, lmfao… I found a $12 headband, but right next to it was a $128 sweater. eek! i slow-danced with a little purse on the lower level near the entrance and waltzed my heart out. i love my souvenir map and portrait, lol… i now have a list of ppl that want to come along next year…

  28. This was the best day of the year so far.. I was upstairs at the GAP store. Boy was it crowded. But it was worth it. Seeing the sales women at the cashier stop and stare like wtf. The slilly walking. Spelling out words.. can’t wait for the video. I was in all blue on the top floor.. great job everyone and happy b day steve

  29. I was late and arrived right when everybody unfroze, so I sadly missed the slow dancing. I was a little hesitant to join at first, but it was so much fun when I got into it. I got a mythology book (which was perfect ’cause some of my college classes are based on mythology).

  30. My 3rd IE mission–2nd MP3 experiment–almost didn’t happen! As the minutes ticked by, and it was 5:57, I went to my iPhone’s Recently Added playlist to cue up the MP3…and found that it wasn’t there. It hadn’t transferred over from my PC! I FREAKED OUT. Luckily, a couple minutes into the experiment I asked a random stranger if I could share with her, and she obliged. Julia, if you’re reading this, thank you SO MUCH! My day would have been ruined without your kindness.

    I started in the Gap about 40 minutes prior to the start of the experiment. Slowly but surely, more and more people came in wearing headphones, until the store was about 85% headphone-wearers! (I stood next to Charlie for a while, he was looking at pants…) The store was so full of participants that when Mark told us to go out to the sidewalk, and then warned us that we were going to be freezing, we had to push and shove to be out the door in time…

    The time spent in the park was great, too. The Beck reference in the MP3 made me so happy! I spelled out “Bees Bike” with my letters (I and K). I think the present exchange was the best idea out of all of them, though. How completely cool. I gave one of my handknit hats to a girl, and she gave me a hat with cat ears! We were both super happy to be getting new hats. :)

    Last week on Twitter, I lamented that none of my friends were available to come to the MP3 Experiment with me. Charlie Todd replied to my tweet and said “If you come, you’ll make new ones.” And you know what? It was true. Anyone who loved doing this as much as I did is a friend of mine. Thanks, IE!

  31. Had the best time ever. Whoever was in H&M (on the second floor), guys we were HILARIOUS! One guy held up a sweater and goes “WOW!!!!” We all totally rocked, giving eachother the secret looks as we passed by. Can’t wait for the next MP3 experiment. Happy Birthday Steve!

  32. This was my first time participating in an improv everywhere event. H&M was so packed and everyone wearing headphone nodded knowingly in the minutes before the start time, everyone was so nice!

    Best parts:

    Being the first in line to follow a man down a block. Had no idea how long the line was until I turned around to mimic him hailing a cab and saw EVERYONE doing the same thing.

    Dance party on the rock path, waiting for everyone to get to the park.

    Back at Grand Central, my friend and I were bummed we couldn’t find anyone who wanted to celebrate the awesomeness of the night with us…so we danced by ourselves and attracted more strange glances (love ’em)

  33. I hope whomever I gave my porcelain hand painted duck in a frozen mini cheeseburger box wrapped in Staples paper bags was thoroughly impressed and confused. I was reluctant on giving it away as a gift.

    Fun times were had by all as usual with Improv Everywhere. This was my… I’ve already lost count of the events I’ve done. Looking forward to depantsing in the future!

    • Hey I was the one who received the porcelain duck!!! I was a bit upset when I thought I got frozen food haha, but turns out I got the best gift of all my friends.

      • Haha, hey man! Was this your first IE experience? Its fun ain’t it? Hope to see you next time! I’m at all of ’em.

        • Yeah, that was first IE event. It was very fun. I will do it again and hope see you in the future.

  34. BEST TIME!
    I almost backed out when I couldn’t find anyone to go with. Glad I didn’t. Even after I missed the train from Eastern LI, I had to race to the next station. Amazing, I can’t wait for more events.

    Highlights:

    *Slow waltz in Sanrio
    *High fives
    *Japan as a continent >!>!?!?! Hopefully a joke? LOL
    *AND EVERYTHING ELSE, seriously.

    At just the cost of a train ticket, this was totally worth it. Sometimes people just have to remember how to play. Thanks stranger for my picture frame– enjoy your lint roller and electrical tape!

    (I propose every University has such events after finals week. Jeesh. Just saying.)

    Can’t wait for pictures!

    • Yea, my maps scared me a little. 2 of them had Antarctica on top of the world, and every one of them had USA as a continent. Also, some people apparently think Zimbabwe is in south america, while others think it’s in africa.

      • One of the maps I was labeling had “I love turtles” on it. Another one had Korea as a continent…

      • I swear my MP3 said “Find Nicaragua”, not Zimbabwe! Were there two versions of the MP3 file? This girl next to me put the star down in Africa, it would make sense if her version said “Zimbabwe”…

  35. I got a shot glass from London. LOL I was at H&M and so many people went to H&M. a whole mob left the store. I skipped around the whole first floor of h&m during the slow dance. i wasn’t very slow. and then my continent sheet…someone thought Africa was a square. so its like a pink square and then Antarctica had a penguin on it which I thought was adorbs. :) COMIN BACK NEXT YEAR! WHOS WITH ME?!?!?!

    • No way! I gave London shot glasses, but to a guy! That means not just one, but two people thought it was a good idea to bring beautifully crafted drinking accessories from England to Steve’s party!

      • hahahahh its like he woman below. I gave a deck of cards but I gave it to a guy. hahahaahah good times.

  36. That was absolutely awesome. I was at the Gap, and seeing all those people dancing with jeans and shirts, and the crazily confused workers, was amazing.

    Also, the Gap needs to lower its prices, because there was almost nothing under 21 dollars

  38. Thank you to the girl who gave me 3 european pillow cases – they will look great on my couch :) And I hope you liked the beanie baby goose I gave you :-)

    Was a lot of fun. This was our 3rd mp3 experiment. The number of people coming seems to be getting more each year.

  40. Thank you guys for the awsome time…it was so much fun,, in the store every one was like WTH ??…but doing all the experience was great…At Bryan`s Park even more fun, I was smiling all way back home…Thanks a ton…For sure going back next time…

  41. Thanks! that was awesome. cleaning up was nice.
    second est thign i might have ever done?

    i am alreayd on the mailing list but how can i be more involved?

  42. lol, the GAP was PACKED!! My friend and I met some nice people standing outside (one who was also joining for the first time and someone else who was joining in for his 4th)…At first I was worried we’d be the only people in the store doing it, but when it was asking “How many people do you think are participating,” “A bajillion” was totally right…I was upstairs in GAP with a friend of mine…We all got stuck up there so when it came time to freeze, so we all just chilled on the stairs for a minute and clogged them up (major fire hazard but we got out in a orderly manner)…

    It seems I’m not the only one who’s challenged when it comes to the seven continents…Someone forgot to draw Canada when they drew the US as North America, and then I went and drew Central America as its own continent XD Great hour though, I have a feeling everyone who saw us is gonna want to join in next year…

  43. That was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. I especially liked the gift exchange (I got a ruler WOOT WOOT) and the creepily walking around Bryant Park. I absolutely plan to do that next year.

  44. This was my 1st mp3 experiment and I will definitely be a part of future ones. I didn’t have any friends that were willing to do this but I didn’t care. This was the best thing I’ve ever been a part of and I had a blast sharing with wonderful strangers!

    Highlights for me:
    -Slow dancing with an office chair in Staples.
    -Petting a ream of paper in Staples
    -Freezing in place
    -Dancing like a fool
    -Running onto the green at Bryant Park when were not supposed to.
    -exchanging gifts. THANKS GIRL WHO GAVE ME A DECK OF CARDS!
    -Mummy dancing
    -once it was over following the crowd marching around the park singing along to the briefcase boom box dude.

    *I had last minute invites to celebrate 2 other “Steves” after the Experiment but decided to not to go because I had too much fun in Bryant Park.

    THANK YOU IMPROV EVERYWHERE AND THANK YOU FELLOW PARTICIPANTS.

  45. This was my second mp3 experiment and I had an even better time than last year.

    I was initially afraid I wouldn’t be able to go because my parents and I had plans to see a show at 2:30, but when the experiment turned out to be at 6 it was perfect timing! My mom decided to join in, but we couldn’t convince my dad.

    So when we staked out a retail store today we (like many many others) picked the Gap. Coincidentally I ran into an acquaintance from high school that I haven’t seen in over 4 years. And the two of us stuck together for the beginning of the mp3.

    I saw Charlie Todd in Gap and I got really excited. I almost went over and said hi, but thought that might have been weird – plus there were only 2 minutes left before the experiment and I didn’t want to miss the start.

    I had wanted to freeze ever since I saw the Grand Central mission on YouTube a few years ago. In fact – that was the video that led me to look up Improv Everywhere and sign up for the email updates. So that was really fun! There were a few women who stopped walking when we did and were staring at all of us for a few seconds before one of them turned to the others and yelled “WHY DID THEY STOP MOVING?”

    I also enjoyed the older man who was so happy to get high fives from so many friendly strangers.

    A bunch of us starting dancing to the safety song and laughing with each other. I’m glad that my group for continent drawing was just as bad at drawing as I was. And the guy who was my partner for the mummy wrap was super nice. Plus he was really good at mummy wrapping. Almost all the toilet paper stayed on me and it didn’t rip while he was wrapping me up. I wish I could say the same for my wrap job…

    It was also funny meeting up with my dad afterward since he had been standing on the steps in Bryant Park watching all of us. It was great hearing what all the outsiders thought of the group of us.

    Sorry I’ve rambled on for so long. I’m just excited!

  46. Oh Goddd, I had SO MUCH FUN today! :)
    http://bit.ly/bauNQR here’s one of the picture I took today. SORRY ABOUT BREAKING THAT NO-CAMERA policy rule. I just couldn’t resist. Today was really awesome :)

  47. It was the highlight of my friends and I’s year. My favorite was the slow dancing! I cant wait to do another one!!!! And I hope the little kid i gave a ceramic fish to enjoyed it!!! lol when we froze and went marching people were asking each other if we were in a circus!! Another funny memory was when we were outside about to give highfives, I was next to these two girls in there twenties just staring at us like we were creepers and then i screamed HIGHFIVE! and she looked like i was crazy. She was hesitant but i got my high fives eventually! Totally enjoyed it and hope to be in alot more missions to come!!!! THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!

  49. The mummy party was epic, i was handed a toilet paper bow tie and forgot about it untill i got of the train at home. Guess that explains the strange looks at grand central.

  51. i got tramples by 15 people and couldn’t breathe :(…i’m not even an adult!! HOW UNFAIR!! but besides the bruises…i got aa tom & jerry bag, and got kicked out of sephora lol

  52. I had so much fun today. Thank you Improv Everywhere for hosting such and awesome event. I went to the Mp3 Experiment last year and I have to say this year was totally different and much more intriguing.

    Thanks to …..(sorry I don’t know your name) for the book, “Gaming The Vote.” It’s a great gift.

    The young lady that I gave my gift to …..(sorry don’t know your name either), I hope you like my gift of two CD’s and please listen to the first track on record called “Sleepy Tigers” on the Sleepy Tigers EP. That song is awesome. Haha. I hope you liked it.

    I have posted some photos on my blog. I have only posted a few as of now. More photos will come soon although I didn’t really take many.

    http://iaminbrooklyn.tumblr.com/

    Follow me if your on Tumblr, if not still check the photos out.

    Indeed an epic Saturday and can’t wait for next year.

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!!!!!!!!!!!

  53. The best part was when Sephora kicked us out BUT . . . they kicked us out right as the mp3 told us to leave. We were the most compliant exit-ers ever. They asked us to leave and we all just lined up single file and walked right out, the timing was hilarious!

  54. I got a flash drive, woohoo!

    This was so great. The guy I did the portrait for loved it. My map of the world I will keep forever, even though Europe is a blob more than anything :)

  55. SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!! I was in the GAP with about 800 other people – I got a little alarm clock. Good times!!!! and my map is hysterical!

  56. This was my first time I ever participated in an improveverywhere event. My high school reunion with my friends made this even better and I am glad I got to meet awesome strangers! Walgreen employees rooted for us and I was pretty close to Steve =D yay! The afterparty was awesome as well! =) It was a great event…I messed up on the frozen part of the event =/ but better luck next time hopefully =) Hope we have an event where we just freeze for a few minutes ^_^ and I hope the person liked my CHASE frisby. Thank you improveverywhere and thank you everyone for making this worthwhile and unforgettable =D

  58. Thank you for everyone who participated in this grandiose event! I had so much fun with my friends and the strangers. What’s more awesome than dancing with a football in Modells’? Also, I hope the man liked my Jesus Jewelry box with a note inside.

    I love you all!

  59. I have the traffic songs stuck in my head! Thank you IE this was so much fun. You should do mp3 experiments more often!!

  60. This was my first time participating in an IE event, something I’d wanted to do for years. It made me so happy, I had a fantastic time.

    I was another of the 3904845 people on the top floor of The Gap. Everyone was wandering around eyeing everyone else with headphones and grinning knowingly. :)

    I want to thank the two great ladies who joined with me to spell “VOID.” I’m sorry we couldn’t find a phrase to join :p

    Also much thanks to the great lady who gave me a little collection of quotes, a small bottle of Bailey’s and a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Tipping Point.’ I’m sorry I never got your name, but I am raising the Bailey’s in a toast to you right now!

    Also really dug the random groups of happy, cheering, dancing people that broke out after the main event ended. Seems to me there’s not enough spontaneous merriment these days. :)

  61. What a riot! I persuaded my 12 year old daughter to come with me, and she had a wonderful time. Huge group at Zara, clearly everyone was in on it except a couple of baffled people who looked afraid of us. Mob scene departing the store but followed by a truckload of fun on 42nd street with more baffled people.

    Stunning that SIX times I drew Australia–is that the unknown continent? My mummy wrapper did a great job and kept me laughing the whole time. The people we did our gift exchanges with did some good choosing–my daughter got a mini manikin (great replacement for the one her brother killed!) and I got a thermos from the US Open. Our recipients liked their loot, too.

    So wonderful to see people connecting, having fun and sharing a silly and carefree time. We’ll be there the next time for certain, and we’re bringing teen friends along!

  62. Favorite moments:

    – Dancing with a little girl’s T-shirt in GAP right next to the 2nd floor cash register. The staff members said: “What the HELL is going on?” when I went twirling by

    – Following strangers outside. I got directly behind a blonde girl on a bicycle with her mom, and started chasing them like I was holding handle-bars. Totally freaked them out! Then gave high-fives to a bunch of baffled tourists

    – Walking out of the GAP during the silly-dance, I was giving Lady GaGa paws and lilting. A passerby said: “Only in New York, man!”

    – I was able to spell-out LAKE OF GUM during poetry time. Behind me was spelled SEXY GAS BONERS

    – I came across maps with Russia and China as continents!

    – The mummy dance!

    – THANKS IMPROV EVERYWHERE FOR A FUN A$$ TIME!!!

  63. I had an awesome time. Tons and tons of fun. The store part (where I had a lovely time slow dancing with a blue bathrobe), the connecting with strangers (making up the word “SPAM”), doing the most idiotic things ever (following a not so amused couple down 42nd)… it was all terrific and novel.

    Oh and I got a pack of pencils btw, damn useful! Thank you, whoever!

  64. My 3rd mp3 experiment! Highlights for me were:

    -dancing with a stuffed doll @ Kinokuniya
    -freezing right in front of the cashiers
    -finding an item for exactly $21
    -getting maps that had Mexico or USA as continents
    -seeing tp rolls fly threw the air…it was like a ticker tape parade!
    -received a beautifully bound book “McSweeney’s”
    Somehow my gift was passed around abit (lost track). Hope (whoever got it) that you enjoy the Kenneth Cole wallet. =)
    -great post-party clean-up effort. The park was left in great condition!

  65. THIS WAS AMAZING! had a great time… i got a really cool gift an ipod speaker dock THANKS!! if u read this i hope u enjoy my snow globe =)…… count me in for #8

  66. This was my first time participating in an IE event….I had the best time.

    Highlights:
    -Slow dancing with a box of Sharpie markers in Office Depot.
    -Confusing the hell out of the Office Depot employees.
    -Freezing outside of a subway entrance – when people came up the stairs they were totally freaked out when they saw us.
    -High fives to random strangers.
    -Losing my husband in Bryant Park when we were all sneaking around looking for hiding spots – didn’t meet up with him again until after the event was over!!
    – Creating the phrase “I LOOK AT FAKE WEED” (at least I think that’s what ours was – i know “fake weed” was in there, though).
    -Watching all of the rolls of TP in the air – so cool!

    Thank you so much, IE — I’m definitely participating in future events!!!!!!

  67. This was my fifth IE event.

    Started in Kinokiniya. Was difficult to straighten up since its a japanese store and already so tidy. we ended up “frozen” on the stairs.

    silly-walking was a blast. and high-fiving was fun. I high fived a hot dog vendor and a man driving a van. awesome!

    A large group of us had the perfect “follow” behind a man holding his young boys hand, but he crossed the street. :( should have followed him anyway.

    being a ninja was cool, some girl kinda freaked out when i dove over her on a bench and ducked behind it.

    The best parts were drawing each other portraits (what a great memento!)and gift exchange. I got an awesome box of goodies, silly bands, a book, fruits basket dvd, a mini easel and painting and a most awesome mix cd. GREAT TASTE IN MUSICS!!! Seriously this gift giver was awesome. i just gave a crummy dvd. Dear awesome gifting girl, comment me here and i can share some awesome music with you, and perhaps make up for the lame dvd, with something equally awesome.

    I have a suggestion as well for the IE gods. MP3 experiment, subway version. EPIC!!!

  68. Hope whomever got our playdoh for gifts enjoyed them. I received a spiritual revelation with my Jesus flexible action figure for a gift. This was too much fun.. especially (me a young 50’s plus) hanging with an awesome group of 10 teens, including my daughter.

  69. I had such a Ball!! Started out in the Pop Tarts Store, the employees were totally cool with it. I got to dance in the middle of 42nd Street! But the coolest thing of all is someone gave me a water fountain!! Thanks!! I can’t wait for the next MP3 Experiment!!!!

      • I started out in the Pop Tarts store , I danced with hat, silly walked on 42st. Do they still teach people geography in schools? I’m doubtful lol. I got separated from my friends in Bryant Park which made it more fun. Sorry to my mummy partner, my paper kept ripping and i hope you liked the friends picture frame.I had a great time, i love my city and i love NY’ers.

  70. I had such a great time. I’ve been living in NY for two years and FINALLY got to do this. So much fun. I’m only kind of blah with the waste of toilet paper, not very environmentally friendly if you ask me… but other than that, so awesome. Oh, I also was kind of disappointed that not everybody had synchronized their clocks exactly on time! Some people were doing things WAYYYYYYYY before.

    Not intending to be a bummer at all. I had the most fabulous time. And also made great friends and had dinner afterward with them! YAY!

    • How cool that you made new friends!!! I agree about the bad synchronization of clocks…the people who were early ruined it for the rest of us who were on time! ;)

  71. ohmyGod this was an amazing experience
    it was a little slow at first, because noone realized that the Staples we were in closed at 6 (or something, i don’t really know, it was just closing) so we all got kicked out and had to find another place before it started (which we didn’t, so we were all of out sync ’cause we forgot to turn it on….)
    at the end, my friend went with the dancing mob to the steps and she caught the bouquet for the wedding without trying ahahaha(:

  74. Hey guys; I was the one with the burgundy sweatshirt yelling “YOU GUYS ARE ALL CHEATING!” at the beginning of the racewalk.

  75. The IE mp3 Experiment 7 was, by far, THE BEST way I could have ever celebrated my 18th birthday — and Steve’s, too! Haha. Freezing on 42nd street was hilarious, two men came in front of me snapping their fingers to see if I would react! And the huge line behind the tourist with the camera was funny, too!

    I started by drawing an extremely detailed picture of Europe for the map part of the experiment, and then I wound up getting my paper back somewhere along the 4th exchange, just to see that apparently North America = the United States. Oh, how silly. =P

    The boy who drew my portrait did a wonderful job of capturing both my giant, obnoxious headphones AND my beret. This picture is definitely going on my wall, haha!

    The entire day was phenomenal, and even if it was just for a few minutes, I got to meet so many new faces. I hope the woman who got my Gamecube enjoys it — I’ll definitely be putting these post-it notes to use!

  76. This was my first time and I had so much fun :]
    I gave away “The Female Man” and I got a cute, blue plush dog! Thank you to the girl who gave it to me!

    And Thanks to the guy who spelt “each” with me :]

  77. LOVED it all! Got a little backed up in the GAP…so couldn’t do the freezing on the street: but still got to freeze on the stairs! Got a coffee mug <3 and gave out a boardgame (Buzz word)

    My fav part was at the beginning trying to figure out who was in on it and who wasn't. However, by 5:45 everyone in the GAP seemed pretty suspicious :P

    I drew water on a lot of the maps: I figured it had to be accurate!

  79. My friends and I had such a great time. This was my second improv event, First being the invisible dog walker. Today was so epic when we froze a woman exclaimed, “What the F*#^ just happened” lol. Loved the map drawing had no room to draw in Asia on my last trade, ohh well.

    I can’t wait for all the pics and vids to come out. i hope i’m in them this year. I found one photo im in so far :D

    So i gave a watch with i note that it needed a battery, she gave me a purple monkey, kind of looks like Jeff Dunham’s Peanut. Needless to say I love my monkey It’s So Cute!

  81. Thank you to the guy that gave me a tie! :D Which is funny because I don’t have a single tie with me so I will wear it.

    I was one of those that were at the Quicksilver store. It was great fun! I hope some pictures were get posted up from there since I saw some people taking picture from the entrance. :)

  82. Aside from all the other amazing things, I fulfilled a life long dream of performing John Cleese’s Silly Walk through Times Square! All of those years practicing that Very Silly Walk finally paid off! I can die a happy man :)

    (What? Some of us have small…and strange…dreams.)

  83. Great time. We started out in Office Depot. As it got near 6pm it seemed the store just filled up. Where ever you looked there were other agents. The employees where great. Had a great time in Bryant park. Thank you to the lady who gave me a pen from Dubai.

  84. I had such a great time this year. I was going to meet up with the people I’d met at the Black Tie Beach party, but our ringleader had missed his Long Island RR train and wasn’t going to be able to make it. Sorry, Rob! (No, not that Rob.)

    We all met up at the Kinokuniya and my ulterior motive was that I’d wanted to buy really pretty envelopes to put my gift in (adult indie comics that I’d published a few years ago), but they only had plain ones. Oh well, I hope you enjoy them, Mr. Gentleman Whose .mp3 Didn’t Download All the Way, and thank you for the chocolate bar.

    Around 5:45 pm, the headphones-wearing shopping crowd started to grow, and I learned later on that a whole crowd had mentioned they were coming to the store via the Facebook page. My friends and I “borrowed” some girl’s watch with a second hand for the final countdown, and then we were off!

    My favorite bits:
    * Slow dancing with a Hello Kitty book, with a doll book dancer and another cute Japanese icon dancer in front of me
    * The crowd of us trapping some poor shoppers in a corner of shelves, but they were laughing anyway
    * The applause from the cops on the corner of 41st and Sixth as we unfroze
    * Breaking the rules to jaywalk across the street, just so I could join another “Follow the Stranger” group
    * High-fiving people in the Starbucks through the glass
    * Running into a friend in the middle of the lawn (I had no idea she was going to be there!)

    I was one of the few people who’d had a plastic bag with them which made the cleanup really easy. Still, thanks to the state of the grass, I ended up peeling dried, wadded up toilet paper from the sides of my shoes when I got home.

    I’m so glad that I was finally able to take part in one of these! See you all at the next one!

    • Trisha! We lost you! I had so much fun slow dancing with a copy of a Bonsai book we all got separated. The “real” shoppers took it all in stride and were taking pictures of us all anyway :) Kudos to the girl whose watch we synched up with!

  85. This was my first time doing anything like this and it was a whole lot of fun! I was at The Loft and my friends and I were laughing at how many random groups of men kept walking in trying to act as if they are shopping there.

    Most Memorable Parts:
    – The person walking too close behind me that when I froze she walked into me and my friends
    – Receiving a map of the world where Asia managed to be drawn under Australia.
    – Having my mom ask me to wrap her because she mummified her partner too tight and her partner couldn’t move anymore!!
    – Seeing some people spell “I am a loser”
    – being asked by many people what’s going on
    – dancing to the traffic song and watching as a group of people attempted the wave while waiting to cross the street
    – dancing the moves from thriller because zombies and mummies as similar anyway

    I am so happy that I have done this!! Thanks a lot for organizing such a fun time!!!

  86. Just wanted to come and say thanks to the person who gave me the police line, awesome gift!
    Also, thanks to the people for helped us spell out “Insane men” seemed like the perfect phrase for the occasion.
    And sorry to the person who got my giant circle of Antarctica, which took up the entire page. I thought we were supposed to draw a continent then make a map by joining the pieces of paper.

  87. I found an ipod on the ground during the dance to Times Square after the experiment ended. Did anyone lose one? It has a passcode on it, so I can’t tell you what’s on it, but if you can tell me what the wallpaper picture is, I’ll return it to you. Email me: shellfed@yahoo.com

  88. Four thousand people? That’s amazing.

    Best memories:
    -My husband realizing he forgot earphones, but wait.. we’re in Walgreens.. and bought a pair.
    -My 13 year old sons kindly enduring their mother waltzing with hand sanitizer at Walgreens (it was exceptionally cute sanitizer)- they sat that one out
    -The freeze, which prevented me from looking around to see reactions (how does that work?)
    -My one son brought “X” and “O” and found a woman who also brought “X” and “O” and they made kisses and hugs

  89. Wow four thousand people went! thats crazy!
    Best memories: when they told us to scratch our heads and almost everyone did it. seeing the reaction when everyone froze. The reaction of the dude we followed. The mummy dance party! This was my first time doing it and it was a lot of fun!

  92. I wanna cry. :(
    I wanted to go SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Badly…
    But I couldn’t go… :(
    It sounds so much fun…

  93. Today was awesome. Despite starting on the Times Square steps then realizing I was about 4 blocks north of where I was supposed to be, I made it to Bryant Park in time for the festivities.

    — Spelled “Yep Lava” (we were looking for a “duh”)…
    — being mummified with the person I was sharing headphones with.

    I also found a flash drive with a galapagos Islands dongle on it…. so if that is yours please email me at nosrednaekim @ gmail.com

  94. I was part of the huge crowd at Kinokuniya. When I got there at 5 there was no one, so I did a little shopping and figured we had it made, we’d be alone. Wrong :) We filled the store, and the employees were really cool about it. I loved finally getting to do a freeze, and the portraits, and the mummy dance, and the silly walks. I got a great Lindor chocolate bar, and gave a deck of Tarot type cards (hope she liked them). And I think we made the day for the Mister Softee truck guy – seems to be an IE ritual now after Black Tie Beach, to have ice cream before/after and IE mission. It was wonderful!!!!!

  95. This was my first time and it was amazing. As long as the tradition exists I will be there!

    Highlights
    > dancing with a bag at Pop Tarts while bumping into other people dancing with cups and tshirts lol
    > freezing while trying really hard not to look at peoples expressions
    > sneakily running across the lawn while headbumping a fellow player
    > dancing with no regard to rhythem!
    > exchanging the purse i bought in india for a crystal rose
    > getting the ugliest drawing of me (which must be true I guess haha)
    > spelling “SOUR JAM DIP WEED”
    > and lastly and most fun of all high fiving random strangers on a crusade all the way to times square, dancing, fist pumping, clapping and singing with the boombox man :) Congratulations to the two couples that got married! (p.s. I never caught the bouquet!!!)

    • You’re Mel’s Kassandra from Ecuador!! We had so much fun!!! It was great to meet you! Mucho gusto!

    • We were at the Pop Tarts store too!! OMG, did you almost die when a few minutes before six, they turned the lights out and did their dancing thing! We thought WTF!!! Danced with a shirt, and had a great time!

  96. This is our second improv, with the first being Black Tie Beach. Wow, this one was huge! We made it to Zara just in time, and nearly everyone in the store had headphones on or put them on just in time for 6:00. We stayed upstairs for the whole first part, and it was a blast. On the way in, the security guard waved us all through with a bemused grin; on our way out, he had a huge smile on his face.

    We left with a stream of others and walked down 42nd St., right next to Bryant Park, as it turned out. Following a guy with a line behind me was my favorite part. High fiving was hard, because almost everyone around us had headphones on. We got some big smiles and strange looks from the few who didn’t. At this point, though, we saw the cameras coming out for real.

    At the Freeze, one guy who was right in front of me when we froze tried to get through me. He looked very confused, said, “Excuse me,” and when I didn’t move, he pushed past me (ow) instead of walking around in the clear path on the other side. Oh well! The freeze was Rich’s favorite part.

    The presents part was fun but strange. I supplied both gifts, a little flower pressing set and a Normal Rockwell mug. In return, Rich got a used electric toothbrush, and I got a strange necklace-type thing made up of a stretchy headband with a jeans zipper made into a circular bead over it. What a concept.

    I think the funniest thing we saw was the 18-year-old or so guy who got a pregnancy test for his gift!

    Thanks for a great time.

    • hahahaha my boyfriends the one that gave it to him! He felt guilty at first cuz the guy didn’t seem to find it as funny as he thought he would, but he’s happier now knowing that someone got enjoyment out of it!

  97. A great time, as always. Most of our favorite moments have already been listed here, but I’ll add a couple others.

    We arrived about an hour early and spent some time walking around Bryant Park – we were pretty sure this was where we would end up, especially when we saw Charlie and the documentation gang, and that the lawn had suddenly been cleared. While we were digging King Pong clean up on the ping pong tables using a block of wood (most excellently), we struck up a conversation with a couple cops who were admiring him, as well. I asked if they had been tipped off on what was going to go down in about an hour, and then spilled the beans when it was clear they hadn’t. They thought it was a really cool idea, and appreciated the heads-up, as they were on a slightly higher alert level for suspicious activity. They laughed and said they looked forward to the fun as we left to take up our first positions in a nearby (and about to close) Staples.

    When we got back to the park after our trip through a couple retail stores, I saw them again with three others of NY’s finest laughing it up and taking iPhone videos. They saw me and gave us all high fives, thanking us again for letting them know. They were grooving with us while we were waiting for the rest of our four thousand friends to arrive – even though they didn’t have headphones. Very cool cops.

    After the event, we all regrouped at our pre-arranged rendezvous point and then decided to go back and help clean up all the TP, leaving all our stuff with one person to guard it. We figured that our fearless organizers hadn’t quite anticipated the implications of several thousand rolls of toilet paper plus very wet and muddy grass. We were so pleasantly surprised that an awful lot of other people spent some time to bend over and pick up the garbage, too. Most of the paper was picked up by folks as they orbited the field carousing and singing with their new friends. Them’s good folks.

    And that’s my biggest take-home memory: people can be very cool, very kind, very caring. Even in New York City. Thank you Improv Everywhere – the scenes you cause bring out the best in people.

    May Family Agents

    • I was blown away by how many participants – unprompted! – stuck around for so long to help clean up wet toilet paper. What a classy, classy bunch! It’s those moments that make me proud to be a part of IE.

  98. Started in Pop Tarts World with some friends. Waltzed with a mug. She was lovely.

    Got to Bryant Park and promptly lost my friends.

    I brought a “Z” and “A” (my initials duh), and found a girl with “E” and “B” and we were like WE NEED AN R TO SPELL ZEBRA! We stole a beard guy with an “R” from another word. When we made phrases, we became “JOE’S A ZEBRA QUEEN!” a full sentence!!

    Drew a picture of a guy named Josh, very well, if i say so myself.

    then I drew five Antarcticas (complete with north poles)

    i had a difficult time wrapping toilet paper. It KEPT RIPPING!

    Danced the night away and stayed with the Asian boombox guy all the way to Times Square and back!! Such a workout! Ridic. One of the best days of my life.

    Cheers all!!! Here’s to next year!

    • Hate to break it to ya, but there is no North Pole on Antarctica. That would be the South Pole. :-)

      • Thanks Susan and Rich,

        I was well aware of this fact. I put the north pole on the top of the page, and Antarctica on the bottom. I’m an overachiever. And I know my geography. :)

        • But do you know your grammar? LOL. “then I drew five Antarcticas (complete with north poles)” – sure sounds like the Antarcticas had north poles on them to me!

          Rich drew Antarcticas on all of his too.

  99. I got 2 boxes of Potato Pancakes. i dont think my grandmother ever laughed so hard in her life, (im Jewish). whoever that was, THANK YOU!!!! and theyre going to be delicious for dinner tonight ^_^

  101. my favorite part was the odd looks from the people in bryant park as we snuck around the park so steve wouldnt see us! they were so confused!

    also while in ann taylor loft, one of the first instructions (to stare at an object in awe of it) a girl turned to her friend and asked excitedly “are we one tv?!”

  102. This was my first mission, it was so much fun!
    I started in Office Depot along with a few friends from my college.
    Highlights:
    -Slow-dancing with a package of CD jewel cases
    -Being the “E” in the word “pile”
    -Giving a journal and getting a photo frame
    -Drawing Europe on most of the maps
    -Wrapping Jessica as a mummy
    -Meeting Steve afterward!

  103. The gift I received was a digital guitar tuner. How could my partner have known his gift would go to someone who plays the guitar??!! I gave him a teddy bear with a treble clef on it. A truly musical encounter.

  104. This was my first time doing the MP3 Experiment, and it was great! :D

    Highlights:
    -at the beginning, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing as I saw that around 90% of the people in the store were wearing headphones or earbuds and constantly checking their watches, and even before it started, one of the employees seemed to be getting really suspicious of the crowd. (He seemed amused, however, and not annoyed.)
    -10+ people in headphones slow dancing with plushies on the second floor of Kinokuniya (the asian bookstore right next to Bryant Park), and the non-participants’ reactions
    -a giant mob of frozen people in the doorway, outside, and inside of the bookstore (there were too many of us to get out quickly)
    -we spelled out “MOKAS BIG USED COINS” – i contributed the O and S. (Actually, it might have been “big muse coins” according to my mom, but I’m not sure.)
    -my map had two europes, antarctica at the top, and the US and canada as two separate continents with one of the europes on top of that
    -the person I gave my gift to seemed really confused as to what it could be as I gave it to him – it was really heavy and oddly shaped. He seemed to like the clay pancakes and square of butter on top that I had made in my pottery class. I hope you enjoy this strange paperweight, and maybe you could find a use for them? [I got an odd tiny wooden box thing that slides open. I wonder what it’s for. Hmmm…)
    -I enjoyed mummifying a stranger and tied a strip of toilet paper around his head like a bow. :D

    For next year, I think it would probably be better to try and count down for everyone in a large crowd, because this time everyone seemed REALLY out of sync, especially when singing happy birthday. :( But other than that, it was a really fun experience and I can’t wait for next year!

  105. Thanks to IE for organizing this fantastic event, and thanks to all the creative gift-givers! I got a strand of Christmas lights; my daughter got a book of relationship advice; her friend got a Shrek DVD; my son got a beaded bracelet; and my husband got a book called “The Black Child: A Parent’s Guide.” We gave away: a beanie-baby wolf, a best-of-Michael Palin DVD, a canister of green-tea bags, a card game, and a fridge-magnet poetry kit.

    • Hey Eddie, I found myself in your video. Starting at 3:53, in the high five line, I was the tall one with a blue and white plad shirt and buzzed cut hair.

  109. Uh, remember when Steve said on the mp3 that he thought someone got a digital camera – I GOT A DIGITAL CAMERA! A digital VIDEO camera! Thanks to the woman who gave it to me. I felt so bad that my gift was a pair of (albeit awesome) men’s biking gloves, brand new. I apologized as much as possible on the day, but whoever you are, again…I AM SO SORRY but THANK YOU!

  110. I got one of the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella, but to be fair, I gave a book too.

    My “A” and a “D” I got from someone spelled out “go to texas ya’ll for big advice”

    Awesome times.

  111. Had such a fun time!
    I was with a bunch of people in staples and the minute we all pressed play an announcement came over the speaker system that the store was closing… LOL. We all had to make a mad dash to a new retail store… :)

    For presents, I gave a cabaret cd and I got a banana republic skirt and another skirt. :) Not my size, but my friend loved it.

    Good times.

  112. This was awesome! I was in Sephora (like about 500 others), but managed not to get kicked out! Spelling out the words was probably my favorite – we ended up with “warm feminine peacoat sale”. Also – police in NY are so nice! My mom was one of the people who got kicked off the subway during Philly’s No Pants Subway Ride, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the police enjoying themselves watching us!

  114. I just wanted to say that I was initially very nervous of participating it, but once I got into the swing of it, it was the best thing I’ve ever took part in, It was so much fun to meet new people and have a blast while doing it. P.S. thank you to the girl who gave me the hand warmers, I will be using them for skiing this winter :-)

  115. My favorite part: slow dancing with an eyeglasses chain in Office Depot… and hearing a store employee say into his walkie-talkie, “I don’t know… I’m calling 911.”

    The Freeze was excellent. I always wanted to do that. Someone without headphones bumped into me – perfect!

    Within sight of Bryant Park, I asked a man for directions. Instead of merely pointing to the swarm of agents, he was very specific, including an estimate of how many yards to go before crossing the street! I managed to keep a straight face while thanking him most sincerely.

    Kudos to the brilliant young lady who realized we could expand MULE into EMULATE, until the last E abandoned us for some other word.

    The gift I received, a Mini Panorama Puzzle of North American Wildlife, had all 100 pieces… thanks again to the guy who gave me another hour of fun at home! It’s a great memento, as is my portrait and the world map with a star where Nicaragua isn’t.

    The partial roll of single-ply I brought outlasted my partner’s full new roll of “double” mummy wrapping. Whatever bits we didn’t pick up are easily biodegradable; good plan.

    I only wish I’d remembered beforehand that Bryant Park has a webcam. I could have told my sisters to watch the fun!

    Can’t wait for #8, this was my third Experiment and the best one yet! Thanks everyone!

  116. It was my first mp3 experiment, and i have to say that it was the most fun i have ever had.
    Highlights:
    Slowdancing with a poptart tshirt
    seeing people dancing with chairs
    Silly walking/freezing
    sneaky walking around bryant park
    MUMMY DANCE PARTY.
    the guy who wrapped me as a mummy was sooo nice. im kicking myself for not asking for his last name so i could keep in touch over facebook. But his first name is Shaun, and he has braces. so if by chance you read this,shaun, i would love to talk to you again sometime!

    but over all i had so much fun. Def something i would do a million times more!

  117. dear boombox man,
    you are the coolest person ever. thanks for leading around a group of strangers into times square for what ended up being the most fun night i’ve had in a really long time. we crashed a couple weddings, high fived and posed in photos for tourists, and danced, clapped, and cheered all throughout times square, and then back to bryant park again for a group picture.
    seriously, an amazing experience.
    thanks again!
    p.s. if anyone has any videos or photos of any of the after-party shenanigans, definitely reply here and let me know! i found one of them, for the wedding crashing, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wb4bfUsa2A but other than that, i’ve got nothing.

  120. My best highlights:

    – Being awe about this backpack in Quicksilver. I was so into it that I just kept saying “I just love this backpack, it’s so awesome!”

    – Slow dancing with a t-shirt I was looking at it as if I were to a lover and then I notice the majority of the people in Quicksilver were slow dancing. My sister said she was slow dancing right on front of the counter. lol!

    – Silly walk. I did the most weirdest walk that I could think of. A mix of Egyptian hand gestures, hip shaking, wobbling legs.

    -Freeze time. I like this one a lot! I’m glad I had the opportunity to be part of it! I was looking for my sister after we gotten out of the store and when I found her, I tried to reach my hand towards her from behind and “Freeze!” I froze at the moment. It was so cool!

    -High-five people was a fun experience. I have never high-five so many people under like, 20-40 sec? I just lost count! Rob would really be proud! :D

    – Charlie! Yup! That’s right! Charlie! When it was time to head towards the park, I saw Charlie just a few steps away on front of me as he looked back, I was ecstatic! My friend was next to me and I was telling her, “Omg, its him! Its Charlie!” When we crossed to the corner to the park he went straight towards the cops that were standing on front of their car to speak with them. I wanted to take a picture but the experiment needed to go on. lol!

    – I found funny that the first thing everyone mentioned was not to go into the lawn at all, but after yelling “surprise” to Steve everyone just rushed in! He made out of the mob ok, right? No bumps or bruises?

    – The letters! I had the letters “L” and “A.” I manage to find a friendly group and we managed to spelled the word “Jail.” It was so funny since the cops were everywhere! Haha!

    – In Ilya Chigirev’s photos, the person who was apparently caught during the sneaking around the lawn was my self-portrait partner! That’s cool! :D

    – During the gift exchange I met someone who I gave a watch it was given to me but I really don’t use watches at all so I thought it would be better to give to someone who would make use of it. Sadly the battery for it died so hopefully he’ll get the battery replaced! Thanks for the tie! I think that was a sign for me to actually start wearing ties since I don’t own any (until now!)

    – TPing. Although, that wasn’t part of the plan but I guess it was to be expected. 4,000 people participating you know it only takes one to start it. Monkey see, monkey do. But it was a wonderful to see it happening so much joy, laughter, and full of fun. I was happy also that everyone did their part to clean up the park after wards.

    – Briefcase Boombox Guy! Dude I love you! That’s got to be the best after party! We got to do the wave on the stairs in the park, high-five everyone who was part of this event, cheering for Steve, NYC, and Improv Everywhere all around Time Square. Some people were asking me what was going on, and I replied “It’s Steve’s birthday!” and they were like, “Who’s Steve?!” lol so funny!

    – We party mob celebrated a couple’s wedding. It was so much fun! I bet they’re happy! We even did the human cave thingy!

    – We arrived Bryant Park again back to the stairs until a cop came and said that the park was close! We cheered and joyfully left the park! As we chanted “Steve! Steve! Steve!”

  121. My favorite Quote:
    “Mexico is not a continent!”

    I also lived the people holding up “Fake ID” with the paper letters right in front of the cops.

  125. Anyone got pictures/vidoes of the marching down the city with the boombox guy? In the beginning as the boombox guy was leaving bryant park, I was near the front with a blue hoodie and a flag I made with a giant roll of gift wrap.

  127. Just have to say… The slow-dancing was a touch of genius. Genius! Spend a few moments thinking about all of us crazy 4,000 people waltzing randomly in different locations around NYC, with office chairs, sharpies, eyeglass chains, plushie dolls, pullovers, sports shoes… Totally ridic, and totally hilarious.

  128. I definitely enjoyed slow dancing with a weight belt at Modell’s near Grand Central. When I was petting a 5lb weight an employee asked me if I needed help…I said I was just browsing and he walked away. This was the first Improv Everywhere shenanigan I was involved with and I loved it!! Looking forward to the next one!

  129. So much fun! I was at H&M with about 200 other people, which alone put the sales people on alert. One of them was seen bounding across the second floor towards another one with a look of panic on her face in search of another associate to join her in her near-terror over the number of people! There were some (I assume) tourists who clustered near the cash registers once we all started slow dancing with various garmets…they were laughing and taking pictures.

    My favorite part was sneaking from one hiding spot to another…I saw a not-so-svelte man hiding behind an umbrella stand, and I kept using non-participants as my “cover”, which really cracked them up. I had someone stop me and ask “what’s going on here?” I just looked puzzled and said “what do you mean?” before creeping away to hide behind another gawker. He watched me go with a baffled expression on his face.

  130. I had SUCH a blast, the event just so happened to coincide with my birthday as well (which I was not looking forward too) so it was great to go out and meet so many new like minded friends. During the mummy wrapping one of the people next to me was a young mother with a little baby that couldn’t have been more than six months old, how cool must that mom be?!? Although I did feel bad when people started to throw the toilet paper and she had to duck and cover for the baby’s sake. Overall though, it was probably the best night/birthday I’ve had in years!

    On a not as fun note however… I LOST MY IPOD at the event, somewhere between cleaning up and the leaving the Park for Times Square with Boombox Kid. I know Shelly already posted that she found one, but alas it wasn’t mine. If you or someone you know found one it would be AMAZING if I could have it back. It was a birthday present last year and it had a lot of my writing prompts and ideas on it that won’t make sense to anyone else, but are sentimentally important to me. If you found one, please PLEASE email me at SecretAgentIndex@gmail.com and I will describe it for you. Thank you SO MUCH!!

  131. This was loads of fun!! Always wanted to participate and this was the first year I was able to make it =)

    I gave an Edward Scissorhands themed deck of cards, and I got 2 gifts in return- a candle and an awesome Halloween rubber pig snout, which I was PSYCHED about!! and then I ended up trading the candle for “Flash Forward,” the book =)

    Favorite moments:
    -Freezing on the sidewalk (our timed-freeze was perfectly successful on the block I was on… and there was just the right amount of participants so it looked awesome, we got a lot of great reactions!)
    -All the interactive instructions (spelling the words, drawing the pictures… met SO many fun loving people!)
    -Gift exchange!!! Seriously I want to do that again =)

    Least favorite moment:
    Realizing how UN-earth-friendly this event was after we were done. (Pick up trash should have been an instruction on the way to Bryant Park!)

    We cleaned up the park okay but it was still hella wasteful. Next year can we do something a little more green? :)

    • How much paper do you think an average broadway show uses on an average Saturday on programs? The theatres have about 1500 seats and on Saturdays have two shows a day. I have a feeling 3,000 glossy programs is more paper than 4,000 rolls of toilet paper. Now multiply that by 40 theatres doing 8 shows a week.

      • Those who stayed to clean up were mindful of how many rolls were in good condition. There were a few people who took those good rolls. I believe one guy “Mr. Purple Hoodie”, had an entire trash bag of salvaged TP rolls.

        Hurrah for the clean up crews!!!

        • Thanks for posting that a lot of salvage occurred. When people started the inevitable joyful throwing, that was pure waste. At least the mummy wrapping was used for a purpose.

          When I got home I discovered two rolls in my bag (other than mine, which I’d put away) along with a huge soggy bunch of wadded TP way down at the bottom – I have no recollection how it got in there! LOL

          We left the lawn cleaner than the crowds who attend the Monday Night Movies during the summer, if that’s any comfort.

          • Well, the track specifically said, “Do not throw your toilet paper.” So some folks either didn’t listen or didn’t care, but I have to admit, it looked pretty damn cool. We cleaned it all up, and Bryant Park was aware it would happen and was prepared to bag all of the waste that night.

  132. I was at a speaking engagement in the Kinokuniya bookstore on the second floor overlooking the park. I was actually the speaker. I know all about Improv Everywhere, having participated in No Pants Day and such.

    Boy was I surprised when my audience completely stopped paying attention to me and instead crowded to look out the window. I was quite shocked at how many of these people, all New Yorkers, still had never heard of Improv Everywhere.

    They all had the kinds of reactions that you see in so many Improv Everywhere videos. My reaction was “WTF didn’t you sons of bitches send me an e-mail? Are you serious? At this exact moment?”

    Also, oddly enough, before the event my friend and I were discussing whether or not the Bryant Park lawn was open or closed that day. We got our answer right quick.

    • Oh man, sorry about that. I didn’t consider that any of the retail stores might have some type of live event happening. From your site it looks like the talk started at 6:30, so I guess everyone would have been out of the store by then thanks god. Sorry we provided a distraction out the window!

  134. Who started at models? i wished i started someplace better than that after listening to all the stories. it was so much fun. my fav part were the sidewalk games like freeze in place and march like a band. u could see how many ppl were participating and allt he funny looks lol. I got a hamlet dvd from this old guy as a present. I gave him soem free icarly headphones i got lmfao. I wish i traded with someone who would appreciate them more

  135. I’m glad no idiot tried to start anything with the NY cops around. The participants are so courteous, and the cops seemed to be good sport (or in a good mood).

  136. I have always read about this experiment but have never been able to participate. It’s good to see so many people showed. Maybe next time I’ll be one of those people.

  137. My highlights:

    At Godiva Chocolates for the beginning – TEENY TINY store, and 100% IE peeps. The employees were amazing – they gave us free chocolate samples and had a great time watching their store become ridiculous.

    Employee (during the “tidying up a display” portion): “This is great! Now I won’t have to do anything at the end of the day!”

    As I was high-fiving people on the sidewalk, some people eating in a cafe saw me through the window, held their hands up to the inside of the window, and gestured for me to come over and high five them through the glass!

    Overheard tourist after the un-freeze: “Well, THAT has never happened to me before!”

    I HAVE SUPERBAD NANOZEBRAS = spelled out with letters. How great is that?

    My partner, while drawing me: “I’m so sorry, you look like a troll.”

    The moment the light came on was pretty cool – well done guys!

    Seeing the trash can stacked as tall as I am with tp afterwards

    FYI, Japan is not a continent.

    All in all, thanks for another awesome mp3 experiment! It’s getting bigger every time…can’t wait til next year.

  138. After years of following IE’s antics and even participating in a few with Inprov RVA, I was so excited to finally be able to do one in NYC!!

    Thanks again to the super nice guy in the black jacket in the Duane Reade in Times Square for giving me “the look” and letting me sync up with his player (I still can’t believe I started late!). Fav memories:

    * Slow dancing with a mop @ Duane Reade and being caught by a non-participant lol
    * Seeing someone freeze in front of a group trying to take a photo – confused and irritated expressions included
    * All the strange looks as a group of 8 or so of us parade marched down 42nd
    * Attaching myself to an already long line of “followers” before realizing that we were crossing the street to the huge crowd in front of Gap
    * Not being able to see anyone around me who did not have headphones on to give high-fives to – so I just gave everyone high-fives! lol
    * Being worried about seeing USA as a continent multiple times, but still dutifully drawing Australia and Antarctica =)
    * The wonderful pink teddy bear from my partner! Sorry for the lame hotel soap/tissues/gum, was in town for only that weekend and didn’t look at the instructions till 5pm that night!
    * not so fav memory: being heckled for bringing “Q” & “U” =( though I was able to make Quip and Quo before giving up and went to help make sentences!

    Thanks again IE for letting us make a scene with you – will definitely try to make it up again next year!

  139. There really needs to be one of these in Washington DC on the National Mall…would be completely EPIC! =D

  140. As usual, you guys have pulled off another awesome event!
    I started in Staples, so I was among the first group to make it to Bryant Park (which made up for last year being at the tail end of the group coming to the main field!)

    My letters (I and M) were printed out with pictures from past IE MP3 Experiments as the “body” of the letters. I kind of failed at finding a group to spell out anything significant but got a really interesting portrait of myself.

    There was a lot of gender-specific instructions assuming that people paired up Male-Female. That just wasn’t the case.

    I got a cool gift, MP3 speakers (ironically appropriate for the event)…

    And I should really find out where Nicaragua is!

    Thanks and I’m already looking forward to next year!

  141. I should add…. upon leaving Staples, when we thanked the employees, they thanked us for “Messing Up The Store”. There were a lot of people, but I didn’t think that we did any harm.. If nothing else, we straightened it up quite a bit!

  143. Any body see or get any pictures of a girl wearing a white “Do I look “Illegal?”” Tshirt? I can usually find one picture of me from these events, but not this time! I’d love it if someone could let me know! email me at addienyc@gmail.com. Thanks! :)

  145. So, has anyone found any cameras? Mine’s lost… Small price to pay for fun, I guess, but I’d still offer a reward and a second Secret Santa gift to anyone who finds it :).

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