'Mooning Amtrak' event shut down after crowd reveals too much

Police were called to break up a mass "mooning" event after a crowd of 8,000 turned up to bare their bottoms at passing trains.

The annual "Mooning Amtrak" celebration in the California town of Laguna Niguel was shut down for the first time in its 29 year history after complaints that participants were showing more than their behinds and drinking heavily.



Jim Amormino, a police spokesman, said officials deemed the event out of control after some mooners began taking all their clothes off and women started lifting up their T-shirts to flash passing trains. About 50 police officers were called in to disperse the crowd, which left peacefully.

The tradition is said to stem from a pub dare in 1979 when a drinker at the nearby Mugs Away Saloon promised his friends drinks if they went out to the railway line and mooned the next passing train.



Many rose to the challenge and the mass moon became a regular event, complete with a website, moonamtrak.org , which warns participants there is "no longer a volunteer to buy free drinks for thousands of "Mooners"."

Held on the second Saturday in July, the event has attracted a growing number of participants over recent years.