Three Lionel residents took a strange and unusual study break Monday night, stripping buck naked and bolting across part of the Yard, according to witnesses and one of the residents.

In a wacky twist on an old concept, two of the three nude men were on crutches, witnesses said.

"It's incredibly stunning to look up from your desk and see a nude body go by," said Susan E. Mortensen '95, another Lionel resident who saw the whole incident.

Spyroes M. Toulious '95, an unwilling witness, said that he was on the phone with his family in Greece when the nude undergraduates appeared. "There's a naked guy running straight at me," he said he screamed into the phone.

"It was pretty funny," said Todd A. Davis '95. "Everyone ran to the windows. We were going outside, and we saw these guys streaking."

One of the streakers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the nudity began Sunday night.

"On Sunday night, swamped with homework, roommate number one decided to moon someone through the window. Dares and bets were made, and he ran through the North Yard in a 'Z' formation," he said.

According to him, the other three roommates decided to repeat the event on Monday night.

As curious spectators photographed the event with flash cameras, the three sprinted through North Yard as fast as they could, he said. And for the two first-years on crutches, that wasn't very fast.

The streaker said he and his roommates had placed bets on whether each of them would go through with it.

"It was for our honor. It had become more than a prank," he said.

One fellow Lionel resident said the streaking might continue.

"It's a late-night activity, and they make money from it. It's developing into a sport," said Toulious. "They might even form a club."