Bare it all on National Nude Day, July 14, 2011

As any nudist will tell you, you don't need any particular reason to get naked. But if you're looking for a good occasion, tomorrow, July 14, may be one of the better ones. That's the day many people call National Nude Day.

Despite its name, National Nude Day isn't a national (in the sense of official) holiday at all. Although its origins are not entirely clear, it appears to have been the creation of New Zealand TV host Marc Ellis, who in 2003 offered a cash reward to anyone who would run naked in front of Prime Minister Helen Clark as part of the day's events.

Ellis also promoted a National Nude Day competition, whose entrants included naked actors performing a Lord of the Rings parody or nude ballet dancers performing outside a University of Otago building.

Since spreading abroad, the holiday has also come to be called International Nude Day and World Nude Day outside of New Zealand.