The Joy of Doing the Unusual Stuff

Center street Plank. Photo by Angelo Fan.
Taken at Diversion Road, Batangas City.

"I learned this planking when my friend, Enzo, posted this to his Facebook profile. Then I searched about it. I enjoyed viewing planking pictures online. I know others may think it's STUPID. Hmm, I agree with them, but for me it's STUPID but at the same time I see it as an art. Being a fan of the arts, whether visual or martial arts (Haha!) uhm, being a fanatic of arts especially photography, it keeps my mind flowing. I need to be creative again (how I wish I am creative), it lets my creative juices flow. I need to be unique. I got to think of ways on how I can be different, but different not in a way  to just catch attention from others (KSP-kulang sa pansin, ika nga). The excitement and enjoyment I felt was so great and the fact that I'm doing it with my friends made it so much better and more fun. I got to be planking more!"

- Angelo Fan, 23, Photographymeister.

Planking, also called as the lying down game, is an activity consisting of lying face down with arms on both sides and your feet together, toes pointing at the floor. There are extra points if you plank on unusual places such as roofs, top of vehicles, on tree branches, on billiard tables, on shopping carts, on another one’s shoulder, on top of a camel’s hump, on an escalator, on your bathroom floor (if you fit there and if you dare).

On your lawn, on your neighbor’s lawn, on your neighbor’s lawn while they’re having barbecue, on your neighbor’s lawn while they’re having barbecue and a pool party at the same time, on your dining table while everyone else is having dinner. The list goes on and on. The body must seem as stiff as, well, a plank, as the name suggests and the participants must have their picture taken and posted online.

The game was said to have originated way back 1996 but gained momentum ten years after when two UK teenagers, Gary Clarkson and Christian Langdon, created a Facebook page and posted pictures of them doing the extreme lying down. The term “planking” was coined in Australia in 2008 by a New Zealander named Paul Carran and from there commenced the online craze. People started to rigidly lie down on their faces on the most bizarre locations and eventually have their photos uploaded on the Internet.

"People generally think you're mad," as creator Gary Clarkson puts it. "That's sort of the point."

However, this fad, despite the fact that it is being done just for fun, has claimed its first victim last May 15. In the early hours of Sunday morning, 20-year-old Australian Acton Beale fell seven storeys to his death from the balcony of an apartment block in Brisbane. He and a friend had been performing planks on their journey home from a night on the town. Friends of Beale blame Carran for his death, saying the game is fatally irresponsible.

One of Beale’s friends posted a message on Carran’s YouTube clip from 2009 saying, “Your video killed a friend of mine. You seriously should take this down.” When asked if he feels like he has blood on his hands, Carran said not at all. “I laughed at first, because you think it’s a joke. You think, how does your video contribute to the death of somebody. It’s not like anybody, or me personally, made him do it.”

On a lighter note, many people still see planking or extreme lying down as harmless and done just for a bit of fun. Everybody wants to have fun, yes, and as long as you stay safe, there will be no problem. It is not a wise idea to risk your safety just to show others that you’re brave or you’re cool by doing this unusual stuff.

Do:

1. Ensure complete physical control. Planking is a mastery of the mind and body so only attempt when you are in the right frame of mind and rested.
2. Choose appropriate planking locations. The mastery of planking is a result of many contributing factors; NOT where it is done.
3. Have someone with you so they can take multiple photos from different angles; and can brush you off after you finish your plank.
4. Plank responsibly and spread the good word.

Potential areas for planking:

1. In your university exam room after you forgot to study the night before.
2. In high-pressure situations where people expect an answer from you immediately.
3. In hostage situations to "defuse the tension."

Plank responsibly!

Visit the official site www.facebook.com/OfficialPlanking
Another site I found www.iplanking.com