An Explainer Of The Gray Sweatpants Challenge

“Is that a Christmas tree in your gray sweatpants, or are you just happy to see me?” is not a phrase I ever thought I’d write, but it’s 2016, and here we are. The Gray Sweatpants Challenge (#greysweatpantschallenge) is trending on Twitter, and, like many Twitter challenges, it is both very silly and very funny (though thankfully not as dangerous as some). What started out as an excuse for dudes to show off their, er, equipment has turned into an excuse for people to put ridiculous things in their pants, and we, as a society, are the better for it.

Originally, the Gray Sweatpants Challenge wasn’t all that “challenging” — it simply involved guys wearing gray sweatpants strategically positioned to reveal the outline of their penises, because apparently that's something that some people want immortalized on the internet forever and ever. Fair enough. (You can find images of the people who took the challenge seriously under the hashtag #greysweatpantschallenge, but, fair warning, those pics are NSFW.)

Of course, it didn’t take long for people to start making fun of the challenge by doing their own versions. Forget the penises — these takes on the challenge involve everything from food, to musical instruments, to Christmas decorations, to animals, all revealed through the medium of baggy gray sweatpants.

Some Twitter users have complained that all the trolling has gotten in the way of the real... meat... of the challenge.

But others have embraced the hilarity.

What a time to be alive!

Image: Nemanja Glumac/Stocksy