Planking (fad)

Planking is the action of lying face down with arms to the sides of the body, in unusual public spaces and photographing it.

History
The term "planking" was coined in Australia and became a fad in 2011.[1]

Planking has its origins in the lying down game (1997[2] or 2006[3]) in Europe and Japan.[1] It has also been known as "시체놀이" ("playing dead", South Korea 2003),[4][5] "à plat ventre" ("On one’s belly", France 2004),[3] and "extreme lying down" (2008, Australasia).[6]

Public notoriety
Australian National Rugby League player David "Wolfman" Williams planked after a try during the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles vs Newcastle Knights game on 27 March 2011.[7] He went on to talk about it on The Footy Show, where Williams described it as "pretty much, active lying down".[8]

On 13 May 2011, a 20-year-old man from Gladstone in central Queensland was charged for allegedly planking on a police vehicle.[9]

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. This is the first known casualty of the planking fad.[10] Acton Beale's friends have accused Paul Carran, a New Zealander living in Sydney who claims to have invented planking in 2008, of bearing responsibility for Beale's death by promoting planking.[6] Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, warned plankers that their "focus has to be on keeping yourself safe first".[11] The Queensland Opposition and the state's police have called for people to stop participating in the fad.[12]

On 18 May 2011, IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon planked on the tires of his race car, prompting fellow racer Tony Kanaan and his pit crew to compete with him.[13]