Planking
By Anine Jorstad Paulsen
Planking,
or the Lying Down Game, is an activity where you’re lying face down, often in
an unusual position or location. The phenomenon was first introduced by two
teenage boys from England in 1997, where they started lying face-down in public
places to amuse themselves. They’re names were Gary Clarkson and Christian
Langdon, and they were 15 and 12 years old at the time. They called it the
Lying Down Game. It became known on the Internet in 2007, when one of their
friends Daniel Hoppin created a Facebook page, to see who could take the
craziest photo. The term “planking” was then later introduced by Sam Weckert
from Australia, who also created a Facebook page where people could share their
photos. The media started reporting the practice, and by 2009 it was a global
phenomenon.
I
think the reason it became so popular on the Internet was because a lot of
people had the goal of posting the best “planking” photo. It became a competition
where people would “plank” almost anywhere for a good photo, even if it left
them in a dangerous situation. It has been reported at lest one death as a
result from the activity. Some examples of where people have been planking is
on top of dangerous animals like tigers and whales, on top of tall buildings,
on top of moving cars etc.
There
are very specific rules you have to follow when planking:
1) You must always lay face down, ensuring
your face remains expressionless for the duration of the Plank.
2) Your legs must remain straight, and
together with toes pointed.
3) Your arms must be placed by your side, held
straight and fingers pointed.
4) You must make it known that you are
Planking. Saying 'I am Planking' usually get this across. Sternly announcing it
will ensure a good result.
5) Your safety should always be considered.
Properly thought through Planking procedures should always go to plan. Never
put your self at undue risk.
6) Every
Plank that is captured must be named.
If
we look at Google Insights, planking was the most popular in the period between
April 2011 and December 2011. After that, the searches for the term decreased. The
news about a person dying after the attempt of taking a planking photo was
probably one of the reasons the term was a popular search in May 2011. Even
though the craze is less searched for now, it’s still a popular phenomenon, and
you can still see people posting planking photos of themselves online.
There
are a lot of other memes that has been influenced by planking, and the most
popular ones are probably “owling”, “batmanning” and “horsemanning”. Owling is
when a person squats “like an owl” in populated and uncommon areas, while
making noises similar to an owl. Batmanning is a meme which involves hanging
upside down by the feet, and Horsemanning requires two people, appearing to be
a single person with a detached head. Other memes that has been influenced by
planking is “hadoukening”, “vadering”, “teapotting”, “springing”, “tebowing”,
“gronking”, “bradying”, “griffining”, and “kaepernicking”.
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