Squirrel underpants: What better way to say thanks?

Twice a year before its pledge drive starts, local public radio station KRCC likes to offer members a thank-you gift for donating early.

Sometimes it's symphony tickets. Sometimes it's museum passes.

This time, it is squirrel underpants.

Seriously.

"They are really tiny cotton underwear," said KRCC's general manager, Delaney Utterback.

The 100 percent cotton tightie whities - the same style seventh-graders wear when they are hung from their locker doors by bigger, meaner seventh-graders - have a three-inch waist and are machine washable.

They are sold by Seattle-based oddity peddler Archee McFee, purveyor of the inflatable fruitcake and unisex prosthetic chest hair.

The company market the knickers as "The underpants squirrels prefer!"

Make your own nut joke here.

"The only thing we are concerned about is that there is no tail hole," Utterback said when reached Thursday to confirm that the station is really, seriously, giving away squirrel underpants.

He said yes.

The whole thing started when the radio station staff was taking care of an orphaned baby squirrel for a friend. The cage was there in the station on North Weber Street, Utterback said, "And I guess just we all got squirrels stuck in our minds."

The station hopes to raise about $200,000 in this spring's fund drive to pay for programming. KRCC relies heavily on small donations from listeners.

When it came time to pick a thank-you gift for renewing members who pledge at the $75 level, staff members didn't go for a tote bag or lame coffee mug.

They bought 48 pairs of squirrel underpants.

It is unclear whether the station expects members to put the underpants on squirrels. The product's Webpage, squirrelunderpants.com, says squirrel underpants are the best way to battle the unsightly problem of squirrel nudity.

KRCC members also can choose passes to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, but Utterback is almost sure the underpants will sell out first. He said he can easily order more.

"People need a little chuckle, because things are a little too serious right now," Delaney said.