This article is about the lying down game. For the isometric exercise for the abdominal muscles, see Plank (exercise).
Planking in a kitchen
Planking is an activity that consists of lying expressionlessly in a face-down position, sometimes in an unusual or incongruous location. The body is kept straight and rigid, like a wooden plank, typically with the palms of the hands touching the performer's sides.[1] Planking can include lying flat on a flat surface, or holding the body flat while it is supported in only some regions, with the rest suspended in the air.
Teenagers invented planking independently multiple times since the 1980s, with names including face dancing and the lying down game. In the late 2000s, it spread among youth in England and Australia on Facebook, leading to a global internet meme and fad peaking in 2011.
History
The earliest instance of planking, called "face dancing" by its participants, occurred in 1983 or 1984 in Edmonds, Washington by Scott Amy and Joel Marshall.[2][3] The two high school age boys were walking in a park when they came upon a baseball game. They spontaneously decided to lie face down in right field to see if anyone would react.[a] The two were left undisturbed through several innings before nonchalantly getting up and leaving.[2]
In 1986, a group of alumni from Amy and Marshall's high school planked at a disco party in Berlin, starting a trend documented with photographs in Der Spiegel.[4] In 1994, Tom Green filmed a prank for The Tom Green Show where he laid on an Ottawa sidewalk in a manner similar to planking. The prank was cut and never aired.[5][6]
So, in 1997 when two bored school boys in Taunton, England started lying face-down in public places to amuse themselves and baffle onlookers, they could not have known of Green's stunt. Gary Clarkson (then aged 15) and Christian Langdon (then aged 12) called it the "lying down game". As Clarkson puts it, "It was just a really stupid, random thing to do."[7][8] The Lying Down Game remained within Clarkson and Langdon's circle of friends until 2007, when their friend Daniel Hoppin created a Facebook page for their craze. As Hoppin says, "We began a Facebook group to see who could get the craziest photo."[8]
The term "planking" was coined by Sam Weckert, Darcy McCann and Kym Berry of Adelaide, South Australia: "Planking was a term myself and two other mates came up with in the summer of 2008".[8] Weckert created a Facebook fan page to share "planking" photos. After reports of the practice started appearing in the Australian media, it grew rapidly and the meme became a global phenomenon.[9] After reports of the craze in the British media in 2009,[10][11] Planking spread to the rest of the world. Worldwide it has also been known as "extreme lying down" (2008, Australasia), "facedowns" (2010, USA and Ireland),[12] and "planking" (2011, Australia, New Zealand and worldwide).[13] In the years following its explosion in popularity, several variations on planking have proliferated, some inspired by the fad, and others that have arisen independently.
Controversies
The popularity of planking generated backlash.[14] Some people disapproved of the more objectionable photos that had circulated, such as a girl planking with her head in a toilet or a woman planking on a stripper pole.[15] Planking in dangerous places also resulted in many injuries and at least one death.[16]
Notable incidents
The planking fad made news in September 2009, when seven accident and emergency staff working at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, England were suspended for playing the "lying down game" during a night shift and posting photos to Facebook.[10][17] They were considered to have breached health and safety and infection control regulations.[18]
On 15 May 2011, Acton Beale, a 20-year-old man, plunged to his death after reportedly "planking" on a seventh-floor balcony in Brisbane, Australia.[19] The Darwin Awards recognised this incident in their 2011 edition.[20]
On 29 May 2011, Max Key, son of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, uploaded to Facebook a photograph of himself planking on a lounge suite, his father standing behind him. Afterwards, the photograph was reproduced on the front page of the New Zealand Herald.[21] Confirming that the photograph was indeed genuine, John Key remarked that he didn't see anything wrong with planking when done safely.[22] Key was criticised for his appearance in the photograph, with some going as far as to comment that he "killed" the meme.[23]
On 2 September 2011, Dwight Howard and about 100 of his fans planked in Beijing, China as part of a promotional Adidas campaign.[24][25]
On 20 January 2012, Pat Barry planked on television after a mixed martial arts match in which he won a knockout victory over his opponent.[26][27]
In popular culture
The fall 2011 season premiere of the U.S. version of The Office featured several employees planking in the parking lots, the restroom, on desks, and on top of file cabinets.[28]
The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. The dispute is about the propriety of including various posing fads that are not related in posture or motivation, to the subject of this article. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page.(June 2020) ( Learn how and when to remove this message )
Teapotting consists of bending the arms into the shape of a teapot, in reference to the children's song "I'm a Little Teapot". This variation was created by teachers in Mortlake College in an attempt to create a new 'craze' after noticing the amount of attention given to planking.[38]
Playing Dead (known as "시체놀이" in Korean. Korean Wikipedia article.) originated in South Korea in 2003.[39] It involves a large number of participants pretending to be dead. It was inspired by the manga character Crayon Shin-chan and is thought to have arisen independently of planking.[citation needed]
Owling (and planking) in the snow
Owling is a variation on planking in which a person squats "like an owl" in a populated but unusual area. Participants commonly make noises similar to an owl, to make the owl impression more realistic.[40] It was first documented on 11 July 2011 in a post on the social news website reddit.[40][41]
Batmanning involves hanging upside down by the feet.[42]
Dufnering is a variation of planking that involves a person lying with the bottom half of their body on the floor, the top half leaning up, their arms close to the side of their body, and their hands ending towards the bottom of their thighs. The person would also be looking straightforward. The fad began when Rory McIlroy tweeted a photo of himself imitating 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner.[43]
Notes
↑ Amy and Marshall do not remember which of them first had the idea.
References
↑ [Staff] (9 September 2009). "The lying down game: how to play". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 13 November 2010. The rules of the lying down game are simple: lie face down, with palms touching your sides and toes touching the ground
↑ Calligeros, Marissa (15 May 2011). "Planking death: man plunges from balcony". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 4 May 2020. Acton Beale, aged 20, fell from the balcony of a unit block on Main Street in Kangaroo Point shortly before 4.30am.
↑ "2011 Darwin Award: Planking Spanking". darwinawards.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020. This Australian craze had infected poor Mr. Acton B., a (former) planking enthusiast who was not aware that Balconies Are The #1 One Cause of Gravity-Fed Darwin Awards.
↑ "Did John Key kill planking meme?". Stuff. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2020. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key might have taken planking mega, or might have killed it, depending on who you believe.
↑ "UFC on Twitter". Twitter. UFC. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020. First man to plank inside the Octagon? Pat Barry @HypeOrDie has been upping all sorts of skills this camp #groundgame #subdefense #UFCFX
↑ "Slang Dictionary: Faith Hilling". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020. [...] "Faith Hilling" is the third episode of Season 16 of South Park. According to show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, they originally wanted to make an episode about planking [...]
↑ George, Dhruv (8 July 2019). "Jorge Masvidal Delivers the Fastest Knock Out in UFC History". essentiallysports.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020. UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal [...] created the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history. [...] "He's bringing planking back," crowed UFC interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
↑ J., Madeleine (9 July 2010). "People Playing Dead In Public Locations". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2013. In 2003 the 'playing dead' craze swept through [...] South Korea -since then it's spread all over the web.
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