The Nude Surprise Party

The Nude Surprise Party

The nude surprise party is an urban legend based on man’s own ego and sexual desire. The legend starts out with a man waking up on his birthday. When he greets his wife and kids in the morning it appears that the entire family is unaware of the man’s birthday. The man goes to work and is disappointed as it seems his other coworkers have also forgotten the man’s birthday. The only person who remembers his birthday is his secretary, a beautiful young woman who the man is secretly infatuated with. After telling him happy birthday she invites the man for drinks at her place that night. While at her apartment, she excuses herself to get the drinks and tells the man to make himself comfortable. While she is in the bathroom, the man decides that he is going to pursue sex with the secretary as he thinks that is why she has asked him here. The man strips naked and walks into the next room awaiting his secretary but finds his wife, children, and coworkers that he assumed forgot his birthday. This reveals that the secretary invited him over for a secret surprise party for the man, but now he stands naked in front of his family and friends as they laugh at his mistake.

The earliest known usage of this legend is from a short story from 1953 by J.M. Elgart. This variation sees the same setup to the punchline in the summary above. Earlier variations seem to be from word of mouth as some people claim to have been guests at the party, noting that they saw the man’s blunder firsthand. The history of the urban legend is based on a man’s fear of being caught cheating on his significant other. Another fear this urban legend plays on is the idea that a man would be embarrassed if caught naked in front of a crowd of people that he is friends with, especially coworkers that he will now have to work with every day. The other fear displayed in this urban legend is man’s fear of rejection and being wrong as the secretary did not actually want to participate in any sexual endeavors with the boss and he was incorrect in assuming that she did.

There seem to be many adaptations of this urban legend. Many of the earliest known adaptations are from panels in newspapers that depict the urban legend as a common punchline. Along with the Elgort example from the 50’s, there is another example from 1976 from Ann Landers in a newspaper column. This variation is exactly the same as the last. Many variations are the same with little noticeable differences. Some adaptations see the man and woman being employees together while others see the man being the boss of a company with the woman either being an employee or the boss’ secretary. Adaptations also either see the man going into the next room when expecting sex and finding the surprise party awaiting him while others see the secretary bring the party of people into the room that the man is in while he is naked on the couch. Some variations even end with the boss firing the secretary for the mishap.

One particular adaptation that has become almost as famous as the original is one titled “Come and Get It!” This adaptation is a little different but has the same punchline and setup as the original. This adaptation sees a Baptist couple that are very important to the church get ready for the wife’s birthday. The wife decides to take a shower, and while she is in the shower the husband invites all their friends from the church into their house for a surprise birthday party. All the guests hide behind chairs and wait for the wife to get out of the shower. When she is done showering, she walks out of the shower and shouts to her husband, “Come and get it while its clean!” She is unaware of all the guests her husband has invited into their home and is embarrassed when she realizes what has happened. This adaptation is great for a few reasons. The gender change is great as it shows that this can happen to anyone. The other drastic change is the change in dynamic from boss and employee to husband and wife. The consequences of this adaptation are a little less high stake. While still embarrassing, the wife is only mocked by their friends while the boss in the original adaptation is now facing the consequences from his wife and kids after openly attempting to commit adultery.

       Works Cited

Burns, Tom. “5 of the All-Time Craziest Urban Legends about Sex Gone so Bad.” YourTango, YourTango, 28 July 2016, www.yourtango.com/2016293189/5-famous-sex-stories-urban-legends.

Mikkelson, David. “Come and Get It!” Snopes, Snopes.com, 6 Mar. 2006, www.snopes.com/fact-check/come-and-get-it/.

Mikkelson, David. “Nude Surprise Party.” Snopes, Snopes.com, 12 Jan. 2009, www.snopes.com/fact-check/birthday-suited/.

“Naked Surprise - Mostly True Stories Urban Legends.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 June 2008, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkSGtza-XL8.