In your pants
A word game of adding 'in your pants' to book titles to make them funnier, started by John, Maureen Johnson and E. Lockhart and brought to the channel in January 2007.
Origin on the channel: Hank introduces the 'in your pants' suffix from a conversation John, Maureen Johnson and E. Lockhart had on Johnson's blog, and adds it to book titles. — Brotherhood 2.0: January 23rd 00:02:28
in-group term (bit-phrase) · in 103 videos, 2007–2023 · peak 2007 (57 videos) · last heard 2023
- First in the videos: 2007-01-23 · Brotherhood 2.0: January 23rd 00:02:28
- Last in the videos: 2023-12-24 · John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated 02:18:41
- Running bit: 'In your pants' suffix game (2007) — 1 origin, 13 variants, 83 callbacks
- Entity page: in your pants
- Related threads: John asks Hank and viewers: 'Everyone Poops in My Pants' or 'in Your Pants', which is funnier? (2007) (Jan 2007) · Hank asks nerdfighters why Harry Potter is such a phenomenon (2007) (Jul 2007) · John: eat a blenderized Happy Meal, wax a leg and lick a cat, for a textual communication (2007) (Aug 2007) · John asks Nerdfighters to help solve 'our identity crisis' on the forum (2007) (Nov 2007) · Hank asks his Twitter followers for potential Your Pants logos (2011) (Feb 2011) · Nerdfighters are asked to vote in a Your Pants poll on the Sharpie colour for John's signatures of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) (Jun 2011)
- Related: nerdfighter (18) · secret sibling (13) · made of awesome (12) · world suck (12) · the Puff (10) · DFTBA (8)
Videos per year: 2007: 57 · 2008: 9 · 2009: 13 · 2010: 11 · 2011: 9 · 2012: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2023: 1
Forms heard
How the speakers say this one item, as transcribed from the videos, in order of first appearance.
| form | videos | first heard | last heard |
|---|---|---|---|
| “in your pants” | 38 | 2007-01-23 · Brotherhood 2.0: January 23rd 00:02:28 | 2023-12-24 · John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated 02:18:41 |
| “in-your-pants” | 6 | 2007-01-24 · Brotherhood 2.0: January 24, 2007 00:01:24 | 2010-06-21 · You're Gonna Die 00:00:16 |
| “your pants” | 7 | 2007-01-29 · Brotherhood 2.0: January 29th 00:00:50 | 2012-01-02 · Changes to Vlogbrothers 00:00:00 |
| “in my pants” | 36 | 2007-02-07 · Brotherhood 2.0: February 7, 2007 00:00:10 | 2010-12-10 · Project for Awesome and Thoughts from DC 00:00:35 |
| “in-your-pants-jokes” | 1 | 2009-02-08 · All Aboard the Fail Boat 00:01:41 |
Every video
2007
| date | video | use | what is said |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-01-23 | Brotherhood 2.0: January 23rd 00:02:28 | origin | Hank introduces the 'in your pants' suffix from a conversation John, Maureen Johnson and E. Lockhart had on Johnson's blog, and adds it to book titles. |
| 2007-01-24 | Brotherhood 2.0: January 24, 2007 00:01:24 | variant | John applies the 'in-your-pants rule' to books from his home library and adds an addendum: sometimes 'from your pants' is funnier. · “in-your-pants” |
| 2007-01-26 | Brotherhood 2.0: January 26, 2007 00:02:29 | callback | John names his imagined store 'The Blind Assassin in Your Pants' and apologises that he can't stop himself. |
| 2007-01-29 | Brotherhood 2.0: January 29th 00:00:50 | variant | Hank, Katherine and friends perform 'Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone From Your Pants', a project Hank says is inspired by John. |
| 2007-01-30 | Brotherhood 2.0: January 30, 2007 00:01:22 | variant | John applies the 'in your pants' suffix to Everyone Poops and weighs 'in my pants' against 'in your pants'. · “in-your-pants” → John asks Hank and viewers: 'Everyone Poops in My Pants' or 'in Your Pants', which is funnier? (2007) (reported back, 2007-01-31) |
| 2007-01-31 | Brotherhood 2.0: January 31st 00:02:13 | callback | Hank argues 'Everyone Poops in My Pants' is a sad story and so funnier than the funny 'in Your Pants'. |
| 2007-02-07 | Brotherhood 2.0: February 7, 2007 00:00:10 | variant | The 'in your pants' bit becomes a whole story: 'Everyone Poops in My Pants', in which everyone poops in Hank's pants. |
| 2007-02-09 | Brotherhood 2.0: February 9, 2007 00:00:33 | callback | John announces a book found in his laundry as 'the naked and the dead in my pants', the 'in your pants' suffix applied to a title. |
| 2007-02-23 | Brotherhood 2.0: February 23, 2007: Books 00:00:57 | callback | John appends 'in your pants' to the title The Day Nobody Shared. |
| 2007-02-28 | Brotherhood 2.0: Everyone Poops in my Pants, a Picture Book 00:00:04 | variant | The 'in my pants' story is redone as a picture book in Hank's video. |
| 2007-04-24 | Brotherhood 2.0: April 24: Moving 00:00:44 | callback | John says he keeps his celebrity list in his copy of 'How to Be a Lady in Your Pants'. |
| 2007-04-25 | Helen Hunt 00:01:21 | callback | Hank's Helen Hunt song puns on As Good as It Gets with 'in my pants'. |
| 2007-05-02 | Brotherhood 2.0: May 2: Book Banning 00:00:52 | callback | John reluctantly adds 'in your pants' to the title The Bermudez Triangle. |
| 2007-05-09 | My 9th: Singing and Randy 00:00:10 | callback | Hank adds 'from your pants' to a title when describing who suggested the song challenge. |
| 2007-05-29 | Brotherhood 2.0: May 29: The Goth Scene and Evil Ladies 00:01:08 | callback | John adds 'in your pants' to the titles of the two books he found and riffs on goth armies in his pants. |
| 2007-06-05 | Jun 5th: S-S-S-Somethin From the Forum 00:02:06 | variant | Hank names the new forum 'My Pants', so that continuing a discussion 'in my pants' becomes a double meaning. |
| 2007-06-06 | June 6th: Lindsay Lohan's Bikini and My Pants 00:01:06 | callback | John says he's in his boxers because 'my pants are full of people' (the forum), and vows not to tire of the joke. |
| 2007-06-07 | June 7: Weather and My Pants 00:01:46 | callback | Hank riffs on the forum's name: 'addicted to my pants', 'my pants have gotten very big'. |
| 2007-06-08 | Brotherhood 2.0: June 8: Studying the Clues 00:00:43 | callback | John finds a 'clue in my pants' and will give his tote bags away 'in my pants', the forum. |
| 2007-06-19 | June 19: GOOD LUCK JOHN 00:01:38 | callback | Hank wears his Brotherhood 2.0 'In my pants' shirt and a stranger asks him about it. |
| 2007-06-27 | June 27: Good Morning John, it's Wednesday 00:02:11 | callback | Hank finds 'spam in my pants' after dancing, a play on the 'in your pants' suffix. |
| 2007-07-02 | Brotherhood 2.0: July 2nd: The Law of Compound Nerdfighting 00:03:27 | callback | John imagines non-nerdfighters asking why someone is discussing post-colonial theory 'in his pants', playing on the forum nickname. |
| 2007-07-03 | July 3: Decepticons 00:01:10 | callback | Hank says he'd like to see viewers 'in my pants', meaning the forum. |
| 2007-07-09 | July 9: The Punishment Fiasco 00:00:09 | callback | John calls the forum members 'some people in my pants'. |
| 2007-07-11 | Brotherhood 2.0: Harry and the Potters are Nerdfighters! 00:01:46 | callback | John refers to forum commenters as 'the commenters in my pants'. |
| 2007-07-19 | July 19: A Day in the Life of a Writer (Who Has No Friends) 00:01:32 | callback | John calls the forum readers debating his book 'people in my pants', a callback to the 'in your pants' game. |
| 2007-07-24 | July 24: More Harry Potter?! 00:02:05 | callback | Hank invites the nerdfighters 'into my pants' (the forum), a callback to the 'in your pants' game. → Hank asks nerdfighters why Harry Potter is such a phenomenon (2007) |
| 2007-07-25 | July 25: Brotherhood 2.0's Youtube Comments Are Answered! 00:01:40 | callback | John says nerdfighters hang out at the Brotherhood 2.0 forum 'in my pants', a callback to the 'in your pants' game. |
| 2007-07-27 | July 27: How Nerdfighters Drop Insults 00:00:40 | callback | John adds 'in your pants' to the title of his library guide and wonders how many books fit in 'the library in my pants'. |
| 2007-07-31 | July 31: HP, Secret Siblings, and Books 00:01:23 | callback | John applies the 'In Your Pants rule' to the two books he is reading ('The Golden Rule In Your Pants'). |
| 2007-08-02 | August 2nd: Airports and Box Fans 00:01:49 | callback | John credits 'the nerdfighters in my pants' with finding his textual communication. → John: eat a blenderized Happy Meal, wax a leg and lick a cat, for a textual communication (2007) (performed, 2007-08-16) |
| 2007-08-08 | August 8th: The Lawn and the Fury 00:02:17 | callback | John reports 'a lot of talk in my pants' about who may contribute to Biss's campaign. |
| 2007-08-16 | August 16th: Finding — and Licking — a Cat 00:00:57 | callback | John says Nerdfighters are doing a great job talking about the Evil Baby Orphanage 'in my pants' (the forum). |
| 2007-08-16 | Re: Vlog 6: Secret Siblinghood! 00:01:46 | callback | Hank hopes to see Melissa's song 'in my pants' (the forum). |
| 2007-08-20 | August 20th: Winner, South Dakota 00:02:22 | callback | John says there are so many Nerdfighters 'in my pants' (the forum) that the site sometimes goes down. |
| 2007-08-22 | August 22nd: Um. Uh. IN YOUR PANTS 00:02:37 | variant | John does a run of 'in your pants' jokes on literary titles, saying such jokes never get old. |
| 2007-08-24 | August 23rd: John's Secret Project Part 1 00:04:29 | callback | A greeter ends a birthday wish with 'In my pants'. |
| 2007-08-27 | August 27th: Thanks Yous and Cameos 00:01:24 | callback | Hank calls the forum 'my pants': 'I just went on my pants'. |
| 2007-08-28 | August 28th: Starring Mom 00:01:13 | callback | John calls the forum 'my pants': 'everyone in my pants wants to know'. |
| 2007-09-04 | September 4th: Negative Suck Cubed Equals Awesome 00:02:17 | callback | John says 'my pants are on fire': the forum 'my pants' is busy again on the new site. |
| 2007-09-18 | September 18: In Defense of Chris Crocker 00:02:03 | variant | John plays the 'in your pants' suffix game with Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys titles, crediting a secret sibling's video for the idea. |
| 2007-10-01 | October 1st: Stuff on Heads...dot com??? 00:02:01 | callback | Hank says he will start a thread 'in my pants' (the forum), a callback to the 'in your pants' game. |
| 2007-10-02 | Oct. 2nd: Brotherhood 2.0 on the Road (Literally) 00:01:50 | callback | John's pineapple pants mean 'Welcome to my pants', which leads into thanking Hank for the forum 'my pants'. |
| 2007-10-08 | October 8th: Zombies v. Unicorns 00:01:35 | callback | John says they have discussed presidential politics for months 'in my pants' (the forum). |
| 2007-10-12 | October 12th: Carbon Re-Neutralizing Brotherhood 2.0 00:02:31 | callback | John counts the posts 'going on in my pants', the Brotherhood2.com forum. |
| 2007-10-16 | October 16th: John's Library Pwns 00:01:51 | variant | John applies the 'in your pants' suffix to new shelf titles (The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Volatile Bodies, a goth-scene guide) and calls 'Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone from Your Pants' a Brotherhood 2.0 classic. |
| 2007-10-23 | October 23rd: Some Explaining to Do… 00:00:10 | callback | Hank identifies the marrying friends as the duo from 'Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone From Your Pants'. |
| 2007-11-08 | November 8th: SUGAR HIGH! 00:02:49 | callback | Hank slips 'in my pants' into his explanation that the missing clue is not a hidden clue. |
| 2007-11-12 | November 12th: Brotherhood Clue Point Oh! 00:00:54 | callback | Hank names his four-part-harmony clue video 'Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone From Your Pants', the 'in your pants' suffix applied to a song title. |
| 2007-11-29 | November 29th: sXePhil, Leaky Brains and a Secret Project 00:00:10 | callback | Hank describes the community as Nerdfighters and 'secret siblings in my pants'. |
| 2007-11-30 | Nov. 30th: A CHRISTMAS RANT 00:02:36 | callback | John sends Nerdfighters to the forum as 'my pants', a callback to the 'in your pants' game. → John asks Nerdfighters to help solve 'our identity crisis' on the forum (2007) |
| 2007-12-07 | December 7th: Fight Night with the Green Bros. 00:03:00 | callback | Hank invites answers 'in my pants', explaining it is the Brotherhood 2.0 forum 'if you were confused', a callback to the 'in your pants' game. |
| 2007-12-14 | Dec. 14th: John and Maureen Johnson: LIVE FROM NEW YORK CITY 00:01:27 | callback | John tells Hank that Maureen Johnson 'went to my pants' (the forum) and insists the joke is still funny after eight months. |
| 2007-12-18 | Dec 18th: The Project for Awesome and Question Tuesday!!! 00:01:38 | callback | Answering a viewer, John adds 'In Your Pants' to Flannery O'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge. |
| 2007-12-24 | THE NERDFIGHTER HAPPY DANCE PROJECT 00:08:13 | mention | The tribute lists what the brothers brought: intelligent humor, blended meals, 'In My Pants', DFTBA, songs on Wednesday, stuff on heads, awesome and togetherness. |
| 2007-12-28 | Dec. 28th: John's Last Brotherhood 2.0 Video 00:01:19 | variant | John adds 'In Your Pants' to a new book title: 'Pompeii, Tales from an Eruption, In Your Pants', one of the books he uses as a tripod. |
| 2007-12-31 | Dec 31: Goodbye Brotherhood 2.0 00:01:24 | callback | The farewell song sings that thinking about 'my pants' (the forum) makes the brothers do their happy dance, a callback to the 'in your pants' game. |
2008
| date | video | use | what is said |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-02-14 | The Puff Pwns Gravity 00:02:05 | variant | A nerdfighter's find, the easy reader 'Pooh Gets Stuck', revives the 'in your pants' title game. |
| 2008-04-08 | Nerdfighting in Bangladesh 00:02:20 | mention | The children Shawn works with may not know in-your-pants jokes, speak English or have fast internet, but they are still part of us. · “in-your-pants” |
| 2008-04-21 | Belated Book-tacular Questions 00:01:22 | callback | A viewer asks John's favorite book title to add 'in your pants' to; he picks Little Pea, and later says To His Coy Mistress is 'not yet in his pants'. |
| 2008-05-18 | A CUTETACULAR INTRODUCTION! 00:00:39 | callback | Among Nerdfighters' Grand Rapids gifts John shows a book titled 'Scruffy Teddy Likes to Play in Your Pants'. |
| 2008-05-23 | Happy (Belated) Birthday, Hank 00:07:27 | callback | A Nerdfighter's birthday question ends with the 'in your pants' suffix. |
| 2008-07-18 | Book Eight...Another Harry Potter Song 00:04:14 | callback | Hank signs off hoping viewers enjoy 'my pants' (the forum), playing on the 'in your pants' double meaning. |
| 2008-09-11 | A Video about Videos 00:01:34 | callback | John jokes about Rosenthal's book title with 'in your pants' added. |
| 2008-10-06 | Berlin and Let it Snow (in Your Pants) 00:00:00 | callback | The title appends 'in Your Pants' to Let It Snow. |
| 2008-11-19 | Sharing Presents in Westport 00:01:19 | callback | A gift or its reading adds 'in your pants' to a title. |
2009
| date | video | use | what is said |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-02-08 | All Aboard the Fail Boat 00:01:41 | callback | John says adding 'in your pants' to Everything That Rises Must Converge is funny and Williamson will not take away his in-your-pants jokes. · “in-your-pants-jokes” |
| 2009-02-18 | Winners and Winners and Ningmasters 00:02:57 | mention | Sarah (Maddy's Grace), an English teacher, becomes books editor: she will promote book reviews on Fridays and help organise the Blurbing Book Club, which Hank admits they have completely neglected. |
| 2009-04-21 | Question Tuesday 00:00:40 | callback | The joke initiation also involves holding 'an abundance of catherines in your pants on your head'. |
| 2009-06-01 | DFTBA Street Team In Your Pants 00:02:00 | callback | As E. Lockhart sought a title for what became The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Maureen, staring at John's cream cheese, proposed adding 'in your pants' to any title; Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines came first. · “in-your-pants” |
| 2009-07-26 | Volunteering (In Your Pants) 00:00:37 | variant | John retells the origin of the 'in your pants' rule with Maureen Johnson and redoes it with a new list of book titles for a charity video. |
| 2009-08-18 | So Jokes: Video EP 00:03:43 | callback | Hank's Helen Hunt song rhymes 'as good as it gets' with 'in my pants', calling back the in-your-pants gag. |
| 2009-08-24 | HAPPY JOHN DAY!!! 00:05:29 | callback | A fan's birthday song calls John the king of in-your-pants jokes. · “in-your-pants” |
| 2009-08-30 | 100 QUESTIONS ANSWERED!!!!!!! 00:00:10 | callback | John names 'Little Pea in your pants' his favorite picture book and later answers 'Where?' with 'In your pants!' |
| 2009-09-12 | Special Friday Video! (On Saturday) 00:02:51 | callback | John jokes that the Nerdfighter political agenda includes adding 'in your pants' to the end of book titles. |
| 2009-10-06 | Victoria Beckham In Your Pants 00:00:32 | variant | A Nerdfighter's find, Victoria Beckham's book 'That Extra Half an Inch', becomes the new 'in your pants' example after 'Pooh Gets Stuck'. |
| 2009-12-13 | Eyelash Malaria 00:03:27 | callback | John says that though he pointed at his pants, he wants questions left in the comments, not in his pants. |
| 2009-12-27 | How To Be a Nerdfighter: A Vlogbrothers FAQ 00:02:35 | callback | John points 'down here, in my pants' and explains the 'in your pants' book-title game discovered by Maureen Johnson. |
| 2009-12-29 | Adorable Puppy Explains Health Care Bill 00:03:38 | callback | John says he'll answer questions in comments, 'not in my pants', while pointing to his pants. |
2010
| date | video | use | what is said |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-01-22 | ThisIsNotJohn 00:00:42 | callback | Maureen, claiming she originated the 'in your pants' joke, says John would not need a stand-in if he could 'keep it in his pants'. |
| 2010-03-01 | The Marriage Ref SUCKS 00:00:33 | callback | John adds 'in your pants' to his proposed novel title 'Giant Inflatable Beavers'. |
| 2010-04-19 | I Shall BLOW YOUR MIND 00:03:03 | callback | Hank tacks 'in my pants' onto his request for comments. |
| 2010-05-14 | Advice on First Kisses, Stalkers, College Majors, and More 00:01:36 | mention | To a viewer about to graduate from college, John recommends David Foster Wallace's 'brilliant' commencement speech This Is Water, linked in the description. |
| 2010-06-07 | Viacom PWNED on Piracy 00:02:56 | callback | John points to the description link as 'a link in my pants'. |
| 2010-06-21 | You're Gonna Die 00:00:16 | callback | John lists the in-your-pants jokes the brothers made among the things no one will remember. · “in-your-pants” |
| 2010-07-21 | I Hung out with Snookie...Accidentally 00:03:40 | mention | Hank hopes John is enjoying Germany and points viewers who want to see John there to information linked in the description. |
| 2010-08-20 | The Fox Hat IS REAL, but Are Zombies People? 00:03:18 | callback | Under 'important developments in the field of your pants', John announces The Sweaty Yeti children's book, adding 'In your pants'. |
| 2010-12-07 | Tongue Twisters 00:03:53 | callback | Hank says there are more non-English tongue twisters 'in my pants'. |
| 2010-12-08 | My Zombie Apocalypse Novella 00:03:24 | callback | John says that to learn more about the Project for Awesome, viewers should 'look in my pants'. |
| 2010-12-10 | Project for Awesome and Thoughts from DC 00:00:35 | callback | Hank tells video makers to get the P4A thumbnail from 'the links in my pants'. |
2011
| date | video | use | what is said |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-02-09 | NERDFIGHTERS UNITE! (in your pants) 00:00:31 | callback | John wears 'Tender Morsels in your pants' on his head, and later signs off 'I'll see you in Your Pants'. |
| 2011-02-11 | 200 People in Your Pants 00:02:27 | callback | Hank plays on 'Your Pants' throughout: the Facebook app asks whether you want to remove Your Pants, and he has been doing lots of things to Your Pants all night long. → Hank asks his Twitter followers for potential Your Pants logos (2011) |
| 2011-02-14 | CHUBBY BUNNY...blergh! 00:02:10 | callback | John says 'great job with Your Pants' is a sentence he never thought he'd say. |
| 2011-02-16 | This Video Brought to you by Nyquil 00:02:02 | callback | Hank sums up the merged Israeli-Palestinian forum thread as 'Middle East peace in Your Pants'. |
| 2011-04-29 | Peanut Butter Face Question Tuesday 00:01:31 | variant | John explains Maureen Johnson's 'in your pants' rule and applies it to three new book titles. |
| 2011-06-29 | THE FAULT IN OUR STARS 00:01:10 | mention | John delegates the Sharpie colour to a poll in Your Pants, linked in the doobly-doo. → Nerdfighters are asked to vote in a Your Pants poll on the Sharpie colour for John's signatures of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) (reported back, 2011-07-27) |
| 2011-07-08 | Kill the Dollar Bill! 00:02:49 | mention | Viewers are deciding which Sharpie colour John will use to sign the books: the poll in Your Pants is linked in the doobly-doo, so vote. |
| 2011-10-21 | Signing Psychosis, BlizzCon, TFiOS, Awesome Adventures, and URLatron 00:03:11 | callback | The URLatron tutorial jingle tells the viewer to 'go get in your pants', then 'Now in pants.' |
| 2011-11-28 | Stuffed with STUFF! 00:00:58 | callback | Updating on the Your Pants forum, Hank jokes about 'the huge load of nerdfighterity in your pants' and says it's still funny. |
2012
| date | video | use | what is said |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-01-02 | Changes to Vlogbrothers 00:00:00 | callback | John lists In Your Pants jokes among the things he never would have guessed five years ago, and later puns that Your Pants 'have been down' because of Russian hackers. |
| 2012-06-19 | Solving Your Problems! 00:03:16 | callback | John tells viewers to look for local Nerdfighters 'in your pants', adding that context is everything (the Your Pants forum). |
2013
| date | video | use | what is said |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-07-09 | The World Needs More Magic 00:00:58 | callback | MagicTurtle643 adds 'in Your Pants' to the titles of Sarah Addison Allen's novels The Girl Who Chased the Moon and The Sugar Queen. |
2023
| date | video | use | what is said |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-12-24 | John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated 02:18:41 | callback | A Nerdfighter dictionary lightning round defines puppy-sized elephants, stuff on heads, French the llama, puff levels, Decepticons, the Giant Squid of Anger, tiny chicken disease, secret siblings, in your pants and the gang sign. |