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Ok, this might be a ridiculous question/situation but it's my situation.

I'm at a football camp in boston until Friday, and I've realized I forgot to pack any underwear (I wear boxers), I have the one pair I came with. I'm going to be pretty active for these days, so far my current strategy is to go commando at night, and wear the boxers only when I'm exercising. I can't get any from people or a store, does anyone have any ideas/improvisation tactics?

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  • 115
    It's quite a statement for technological advancement that you have mobile internet access from wherever you are, but can't obtain new underwear.
    – Greg Hewgill
    Jun 24, 2015 at 2:48
  • 1
    Well. There is always the ubiquitous Amazon: amazon.com/s/…
    – Karlson
    Jun 24, 2015 at 2:54
  • 16
    Go to one of your fellow campers and make them an offer they can't refuse.
    – Gayot Fow
    Jun 24, 2015 at 3:02
  • 22
    You're in Boston and there are no shops to buy underwear? You cannot be serious
    – Calchas
    Jun 24, 2015 at 11:16
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    Money can solve many problems (though not ones involving words like 'inoperable', unfortunately). I bet the coaches or other organizers have folks around that can do a run for you, maybe even for free (plus the undies, of course) but it can't hurt to offer to reimburse for gas etc. Get your 'ducks' in a row and figure the size out and go asking, you shall find and be comfortable. I've taken my kid to plenty of baseball camps, and there are always such people around.
    – Spehro Pefhany
    Jun 24, 2015 at 19:26

6 Answers 6

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I'm surprised that nobody mentioned the infamous "flip them around" technique. Arguably you can use one pair of boxers for four days if you flip them inside out and front to back. Indeed boxers, and tighty-whities, have two degrees of freedom which produce four possible rotations. This doesn't really work with thongs due to the difference in surface area between front and back. Just for kicks here's a thread on a running forum discussing underwear and exercising (man I hope they're all kidding!).

For added comfort you should of course think of letting them dry as much as possible, or even washing them, since exercising in them inevitably means sweating in them. For completeness sake note that if you don't wash your sweaty boxers and rotate them four times you'll probably stink. A lot.

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    The mention of four days in the question did make me wonder if it was a deliberate set-up for this punchline.
    – David Richerby
    Jun 24, 2015 at 9:09
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    I hope this is a joke
    – Calchas
    Jun 24, 2015 at 11:15
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    sorry but you can't flip this stuff front-to-back, the shape is totally different and since he's doing sport he'd quickly get an itchy red mark due to the pulling. Still, underwear is fine for 2 days, I'd try to wash after that. The fact that he sweats in it is bad.
    – Formagella
    Jun 24, 2015 at 14:20
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    There's the infamous six day underwear that has three leg holes. The idea is rotate and flip.
    – user13097
    Jun 24, 2015 at 15:29
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    @Calchas It's a camp. They rarely allow minors unaccompanied trips away, and quite often something like a football camp won't even allow accompanied trips. If the OP is not a extrovert, he is likely not going to want to call attention to himself so that the requisite hazing from other attendees would occur. This can very well be dire times to him. How dare you put your own sensibilities on another, especially if you are an adult extrovert.
    – CGCampbell
    Jun 28, 2015 at 12:25
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Wash them in the sink before you sleep, let them dry as much as possible until the morning, if they are not dry by then, iron them a bit and they will be dry.

If you can't get a hold of an iron, put them in front of the A/C or the heater, do not block the airway totally, just let the air pass through the boxers and it will make them dry in no time.

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  • 27
    Do you have to sleep in the sink?
    – Greg Hewgill
    Jun 24, 2015 at 2:58
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    damn you native speakers... it is my third language :D
    – Nean Der Thal
    Jun 24, 2015 at 3:06
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    Hairdryers are also an option for drying small items/areas of clothing, if there are any available where you are.
    – CMaster
    Jun 24, 2015 at 8:16
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    "it is my third language" Thank you for writing near-perfectly in the language I know, rather than one of the thousands that I don't. I always feel incredibly lucky that so many people make so much effort to speak English, and slightly guilty that I make very little effort to reciprocate.
    – David Richerby
    Jun 24, 2015 at 9:14
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    @Davidricherby You know, it's never late to start. ;-)
    – Diego Sánchez
    Jun 24, 2015 at 9:22
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I'm assuming you're at the 2015 BC Football High School Camp (Session II) - (quick Google search). Funny they did not list underwear in the Things to Bring section. On this page it mentions a Camp Store. Talk to someone at the store to see if they can pick some up for you. If money is an issue, have them contact someone (parent) who can figure that part out. Also, you could contact someone using one of the many numbers or email provided in the Contact Information section. This goal of this approach is to get some new skivvies versus the sink and iron approach. Also, check around with some of the other players to see if they forgot stuff too. Having a list of things for several people may help.

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    they didn't list it because it's pretty obvious you will need underwear. ;)
    – user428517
    Jun 24, 2015 at 18:55
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    I'm really impressed on your detective abilities, yeah the store doesn't have them. But I'll try the rest.
    – Dylan McGrath
    Jun 24, 2015 at 19:48
  • @sgroves Not true. I follow a checklist to pack my bag. If it is not on the packlist, I will forget it. But then, I use my own checklist.
    – Bernhard
    Jun 24, 2015 at 20:51
  • Man, I miss BC. I got my degree from BC in 1996 - and I'm thousands of miles away these days.
    – Aleks G
    Jun 25, 2015 at 19:36
  • @sgroves Pssh. I was second string offensive line. The one game I knew I was going to have to start and play (due to injury), i forgot my shoes. Just saying. To this day ( and that was 34 years ago ) it remains my single most painfully embarrassing night of my childhood.
    – CGCampbell
    Jun 28, 2015 at 12:28
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Inspired by the same-day delivery answer, I remembered there's a service called "Magic" where you basically text them what you want and they quote a price:

We have trained operators standing by 24/7 to answer every one of your requests. Send us a text message, and we'll get you what you want. We'll order what you need from the appropriate service (e.g. DoorDash, Instacart, Postmates, etc.), and deal with them so you just automatically get what you want, like magic...

and from the FAQ:

Q: What kinds of things can I use Magic for?

Anything you want. As long as it's not illegal. Seriously. Just try it.

It might be useful if you have no money or credit cards as someone else could do it for you.

I've no idea if they're any good, I've always wanted to try it when I'm in the states but never have. I'm mostly posting because I think it would be awesome to ask a random service to find and deliver you underwear.

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  • Now I got to try it out.
    – phyrfox
    Jun 25, 2015 at 21:41
8

You're at football camp? Someone else brought extra underwear. Barter for them.

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  • 1
    This should probably be a comment.
    – JoErNanO ♦
    Jun 25, 2015 at 17:45
  • 8
    It's a solution to the problem posed in the question, why should it be a comment?
    – talrnu
    Jun 25, 2015 at 17:54
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    I agree. It is a solution.
    – Maître Peseur
    Jun 25, 2015 at 18:50
  • If someone else bought 4 pairs of underwear, as part of your barter offer to wash a pair for them so they only need 3.
    – DJClayworth
    Jul 2, 2015 at 18:57
4

If you have a couple of shorts with different length with you, you can use the shortest pair as underwear. Or even better, use swimwear - at least that dries quicker after washing them.

There's also: - Ask a friend - Ask a teacher - Ask a random stranger

Personally I'd just wash them, you might need to improvise with soap or shampoo. It's what I do on business trips: take 2-3 pairs and wash the most recently used pair every evening. As an added benefit this also means I don't have to wash a mountain of dirty clothes when I come back after 4 weeks of travel. Just make absolutely sure that socks are completely dry before wearing them.

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