momo-milk: Planking

About

Planking refers to the act of lying face down with arms to the sides in unusual public spaces and photographing it to share online. In form, it is nearly identical to the Lying Down Game, which became popular in the United Kingdom in 2010.

Origin

The phenomenon started to gain momentum across the country in March 2011, when the pro-rugby player David “Wolfman” Williams planked after a try during the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles vs Newcastle Knights game held on March 27th, 2011^[1].

The term “planking” was reportedly coined in 2008 by Paul Carran^[2], a New Zealander living in Sydney, Australia. Born in Dunedin, Carran started planking after hearing about a similar game friends were playing in UK in 2008.

Precursors

Prior to the outbreak of “planking” in Australia, the act of lying down on the ground and photographing the scene has been documented before with the phenomenon known as Lying Down Game, which had a similar beginning as a Facebook group started by a group of friends in 2006. The game became quite popular in the United Kingdom during the summer of 2010, drawing participation from all over the country as well as overseas.

Though not directly related, Similar practices of “bizarre photograph poses” have been seen on the Korean web with Playing Dead in 2003 and the French art website “A plat ventre” (on one’s belly) in 2004.

Spread

The “planking” game quickly caught on with Australian youths, with the official Facebook page^[3] gaining over 130,000 fans within the first week. There are numerous single topic blogs dedicated to hosting “planking” images submitted by participants, including BestPlank^[4], PlankingMissions^[5], iPlanking^[6], Plank.it^[7] and Planking.me^[8] among others.

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Rules of Planking

According to the official Facebook page, the following rules should be kept in mind:

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.

Acton Beale’s Death

On May 15th, “planking” phenomenon became a highly controversial topic in the news media when Acton Beale, a 20 year old man, plunged to death from an attempt at “planking” on a seventh floor balcony is Brisbane, Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned plankers that their “focus has to be on keeping yourself safe first”. The Queensland Opposition and the state’s police have called for people to stop participating in the fad.

New Zealand

The fad soon spread over to the neighboring island New Zealand, where it caused much concern for the authorities and educators. On May 19th, 2011, a student was caught planking on the ledge of a secondary school building in Central North Island. On May 25th, another student was caught planking on a railway line, in front of an oncoming train.

Global Planking Day

On May 13th, 2011, American journalist Michelle McMurray wrote an article titled “First Annual Global Planking Day: May 25, 2011”^[9] calling on readers to join the inaugural holiday of planking.