Was it left behind in a fit of mischief? Or did someone keep it here as a spare pair, just in case their lunch didn’t quite agree with them? Perhaps it’s part of an old Carnaval costume… As the most recent addition to the Observant team, unaware of the undergarment’s history, I let my imagination run wild. The reality, however, turned out to be far less exciting.
A quick round of questions revealed that this pair of underwear was once part of a marketing campaign for Bad Neighbours 2, a film about a sorority moving into a residential neighbourhood and driving the neighbours up the wall. Convinced that UM students would flock to their would-be blockbuster, the distributor sent over two pairs for Observant to give away.
On 9 May 2016, a three-line notice went up on observantonline.nl, inviting readers to claim them. The response? Dead silence. Apart from in the office, that is, where the sight of the pink briefs has continued to provoke peals of laughter, even after all these years. Schoolboy humour never really goes out of style.