This article is about the lying down game. For the isometric exercise for the abdominal muscles, see
Plank (exercise).
Planking (or the Lying Down Game) is an activity consisting of lying in a face-down position, sometimes in an unusual or incongruous location. The palms of the hands are typically touching the sides of the
body and the toes are typically touching the ground.[1] Some players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play.[1] The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden
plank. Planking can include lying flat on a flat surface, or holding the body flat while it is supported in only some regions, with other parts of the body suspended. Many participants in planking have photographed the activity in unusual locations and have shared such pictures through social media.
Planking gained popularity rapidly and eventually notoriety from early-mid 2011 before slowly phasing out in early 2012.
History
A planking-like activity called face dancing by its participants was initiated in 1984 in
Edmonds, Washington in the US 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 decided to lie face down in right field to see if anyone would react.
The first video-recorded occurrence of planking was in 1994 when
Tom Green performed a stunt he called "Dead Guy" for a cable TV show, which consisted of Green lying down on an
Ottawa sidewalk without moving. Green, who was in an
MTV show in the 1990s, is a comedian known for his pranks. He informed
CNN about this video evidence and how it did not air on the show, stating that it was "a very obscure piece of video."[4] Green tweeted "Just found video of me #planking in 1994. I will post it soon. Let people know. :)" on 12 July 2011.[5]
However, the video sketch was never aired. So when, in 1997, 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."[6][7] 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."[7]
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".[7] 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.[8] After reports of the craze in the British media in 2009,[9][10] 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),[11] and "planking" (2011, Australia, New Zealand and worldwide).[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] Planking in dangerous places also resulted in many injuries and at least one death.[15]
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.[9][16] They were considered to have breached health and safety and infection control regulations.[17]
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.[18] The
Darwin Awards recognised this incident in their 2011 edition.[19]
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.[20] Confirming that the photograph was indeed genuine, John Key remarked that he didn't see anything wrong with planking when done safely.[21] Key was criticised for his appearance in the photograph, with some going as far as to comment that he "killed" the meme.[22]
On 2 September 2011,
Dwight Howard and about 100 of his fans planked in Beijing, China as part of a promotional
Adidas campaign.[23][24]
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.[25][26]
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.[27]
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) (
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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.[37]
Playing Dead (known as "시체놀이" in Korean) originated in
South Korea in 2003.[38] 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.[39]
Hadouken-ing also known as
Makankosappo, involves multiple people staging a "Ki attack" knockout sequence and photographing themselves in mid-action, posed like in the popular Japanese fighting arcade game Street Fighter or manga series Dragon Ball.[40]
Gallon smashing involves a person spilling a gallon of liquid (usually milk), then "falling" and having a hard time getting back up.[41]
Vadering mimics
Darth Vader's Force Choke hold. One person has their hand up in a choking gesture, while their "victim" looks to be raised off the ground while clutching at their neck.[42][43]
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.[44] It was first documented on 11 July 2011 in a post on the social news website
reddit.[44][45]
Batmanning involves hanging upside down by the feet.[47]
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.[48]
Pratting is a variation of planking that was spawned from a scene in the film
Jurassic World in which
Chris Pratt's character uses a defensive posture to save himself from velociraptors while inside of their cage. The pose requires the user to have their knees slightly bent, head forward, arms extended out far (sometimes with one closer to the subject) and fingers up. Immediately following the film's wide release, many zookeepers posted images of themselves in similar formation with their respective animals.[49]
References
^
ab[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.