May 18, 2011: planking

[infinite monkey]

I could sit on the wing of a flying plane, that would be death defying.

Everyone's doing it: SITTING. Don't be left out! You can practice almost anywhere, to build up to the plane.

[casimendocina]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

I'm fixing to do some Olympic planking on a Tempurpedic mattress in a few minutes.

Stay safe!

[ZenGum]

Okay, this is getting silly.

Students have been disciplined in several schools, in South Australia and Queensland, for planking in school grounds.

At least four shop assistants have been fired for planking at work.

And Casi seems to have missed that the car I was describing is the one featured in the original post i.e. Sandy's Possum-mobile.

[casimendocina]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Okay, this is getting silly.

Students have been disciplined in several schools, in South Australia and Queensland, for planking in school grounds. .

Didn't know that.

Originally Posted by ZenGum

At least four shop assistants have been fired for planking at work.

Saw this particular news story. The intial story mentioned 8 and a later one was about a woman who believes she has been made a scapegoat and is planning to take her former employer to court.

Originally Posted by ZenGum

And Casi seems to have missed that the car I was describing is the one featured in the original post i.e. Sandy's Possum-mobile.

I realised that after the initial post...way too much red cordial.

[ZenGum]

Seriously, this is following all the patterns of a new drug craze and the resultant hysteria. I have a sensitive sense of the absurd and this is making me

ETA especially the guy planking across two camels. Camels make everything funnier.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Seriously, this is following all the patterns of a new drug craze and the resultant hysteria. I have a sensitive sense of the absurd and this is making me

ETA especially the guy planking across two camels. Camels make everything funnier.

< note: extra feet and extra funny. also no monkeys>

[BigV]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Okay, this is getting silly.

Students have been disciplined in several schools, in South Australia and Queensland, for planking in school grounds.

At least four shop assistants have been fired for planking at work.

And Casi seems to have missed that the car I was describing is the one featured in the original post i.e. Sandy's Possum-mobile.

Please do my/our research for me/us. Linky?

(I said it nicely, I could have said "Cite.")

[wolf]

Once again, The Cellar is ahead of the local news curve. There's some wack-job in Philadelphia that planks around 30th Street station and gets security called on her a lot. She was interviewed, and filmed planking in a number of extremely uninteresting places (floor of main concourse and on a table in the food court. ho hum). The story ran last night (Friday. Or maybe it was Thursday. In any event, it was after the initial IOTD post).

[Aliantha]

All the kids are planking these days. It's just a passing fad, and taken in the correct context, it is pretty funny.

I think the hysteria is stupid.

Here's a couple of pics of my kids planking.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by BigV

Please do my/our research for me/us. Linky?

(I said it nicely, I could have said "Cite.")

Where should I start?

Plankers not deterred by Brisbane man's death

[From Monday May 16th]

Australian plankers are vowing to continue despite the online craze being taken to a "dark point" by the death of a young Brisbane man.

Acton Beale, 20, fell from a high-rise building in Kangaroo Point on Sunday morning when he tried to plank on a balcony railing.

Planking involves a person lying face down in a rigid position at unusual locations. Photos of the act are often then shared on social networking sites like Facebook.

The Queensland Opposition has joined the state's police in calling for people to stop participating in the dangerous craze - a move one expert labels "counter-intuitive".

But Richard Litonjua, who created the Brisbane Planking Association (BPA), says despite the fatal fall, plankers will "absolutely not" stop.

"Accidents happen every day. It's a tragic thing to happen to somebody and a really tragic way to go, but if people crash their car and die, we're not going to stop driving our cars," he said.

"We can't just lock ourselves up and stop doing things just because something's been taken to a really dark point."

Users of the Facebook page, which has attracted thousands of members, echoed that opinion.

"So one guy dies and the planking police come out! Who is next, the walking police? Or what about the driving police? The swimming police? Anyone else?" wrote Rhiannon Downie.

"So we should all stop doing the things we think is fun because we can die doing it? Say goodbye to almost every sport in the world! Is that really what u want?" wrote Ron Adrian Blomstervik.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says plankers must learn the difference between "a harmless bit of fun ... and taking a risk with your life".

Mr Litonjua agrees plankers can no longer afford to ignore the safety aspects of the craze.

"There is extreme stuff going on, and being from a construction background I get safety pushed on me every day. A lot of people don't even think about it," he said.

"I've noticed the Gladstone planking page was pulled immediately offline even before the media caught hold of the story. We took the tack of keeping our page there and really letting all the people who watch us know to do it safely.

"The Brisbane Planking Association is all about planking smart and planking safe. It's not about being a hero or a daredevil. Think before you plank, and don't drink and plank."

Memorial planks

Beale's Facebook page is awash with messages of condolence. Facebook friend Hna N Skip describes him as a man who "made everyone feel loved and welcome like family".

But there are also many posts from trolls that mock his death and the planking craze.

Mr Litonjua says some plankers on Facebook have suggested holding events to honour Beale, who is believed to have been involved in planking for just one week.

"We've had a few suggestions come through and we haven't really pushed that point because it's quite a sensitive matter for the family involved," he said.

"Because the way that he passed away was involved in that, I don't think the family would really appreciate that point being pushed - they want to remember him for who he was, not the way he passed away."

While some have described it as a new fad, Mr Litonjua says planking has actually been around for quite some time.

"It all started actually in 2007 overseas, in Europe, and it was originally called the laying down game," he said.

Nicholas Carah, an expert in new media at the University of Queensland, says planking shot into the spotlight last week when police issued a Gladstone man with a court appearance notice after he was discovered planking on a police car.

"Attempts to control phenomenons (sic) like this inevitably amplify it," he said.

"The police were trying to make a stand but counter-intuitively it gave it much more publicity."

From Friday May 19th

Woolworths sacks workers for planking

SCORES of Australians suspended or sacked for planking have taken to Facebook to vent their frustration.

Woolworths, the country's biggest employer, has axed eight employees in three states for performing the potentially dangerous stunt on top of meat grinders, display shelves, trolleys and stacks of milk crates and then boasting about it online.

The sackings comes after Acton Beale, 20, from Brisbane, tragically fell to his death as he tried to plank the seven-storey balcony of his high-rise unit on Sunday.

The report of his death highlighted the internet craze and triggered a crackdown.

Woolworths said its sackings were due to staff putting their own safety, as well as that of other staff and customers, at risk.

The sackings follow the suspension of six school students for planking in Queensland, with police and education officials warning the fad will not be tolerated. McDonald's told its staff yesterday that planking was considered inappropriate behaviour in the workplace.

Caught in the act

In NSW, the manager and assistant manager of a Dick Smith electronics outlet - owned by Woolworths - were shown the door after the company discovered they had planked on a 2m shelving unit.

Two Victorian meat department employees were dismissed for planking on a mincing machine, while a Queensland casual worker was sacked for lying face down on a pile of milk crates.

Another three nightshift workers were sacked for planking on top of trolleys and display units. Many of those fired were employees who photographed the act.

Wade Loan, one of those sacked by Woolworths in NSW, posted on Facebook yesterday: "Only I could get fired for planking".

He has since become a fan of a Facebook page titled "Australia: The only country where lying down can be illegal".

Other Facebook reports include people fired for planking on raised forklifts and a student suspended from school for scaling a 1.8m wall.

More investigations

Woolworths told The Daily Telegraph newspaper it was investigating several other planking incidents.

A spokeswoman said the company became aware of the stunts when it was tipped off by colleagues and directed to images on Facebook.

But Woolworths risk and safety general manager Anthony Wilson said the company was not trying to be a killjoy.

Employees had put themselves and customers at risk.

"It's not about being the fun police, it's about making sure people are looking out for their own safety," Mr Wilson said.

"(Planking) is a direct contradiction of our safety and health policy. Our employees have a responsibility to ensure their own safety and the safety of those around them."

However, the company said today that it had sacked the workers for breaching health and safety rules, not planking.

One of the nation's leading workplace law firms, Slater and Gordon, said planking alone should not be grounds for sacking and employees could potentially sue for unfair dismissal.

Legal warning

Slater and Gordon's national head of employment law, Marcus Clayton, said that if employees were endangering themselves a warning might still be more appropriate.

Three students at Daylesford Secondary College in Victoria including the school's vice captain have reportedly been suspended for planking.

Meanwhile a "mass plank" planned in Albury on Saturday has been relocated after concerns were raised with organisers that it would desecrate a war memorial site.

More than 70 people have said they will attend, while a further 94 have been invited.

The group's members are now planning to "mass plank" the QE2 square instead of the proposed site at Monument Hill.

Members of the local RSL were reportedly worried about plankers disrespecting the site.

Police and education officials have warned the fad will not be tolerated.

[ZenGum]

Whyalla Santos plant workers sacked for dangerous planking 60m up in the air



TWO workers have been sacked from Santos in Whyalla after photos surfaced of them planking on top of the plant's smokestacks, where they risked a 60m fall.

Their actions were viewed as extremely dangerous and they were immediately sacked from the plant.

A response from Santos was not available last night.

Employers across the nation have cracked down on the planking act, with dismissals reported across the country.

The act involves a person lying face down on an object and keeping their body rigid while being photographed.

It began as an internet craze and is being performed in schools and workplaces throughout the country.

A Brisbane man died last week while planking after he fell from a 5cm wide balcony railing on the seventh floor of an apartment building. Sam Newman also caused controversy this week after photographs emerged of him planking on the balcony railing of his 40th floor Port Melbourne apartment.

Despite the danger of the act, the Planking Australia Facebook page continues to attract followers and last night had 149,425 fans.

Anti-planker hurt in planking demo


A Sydney woman has been taken to hospital after falling while planking.

The woman, believed to be in her 40s, was at a dinner party when discussion turned to planking.

The internet-driven phenomenon involves people lying "plank-like" in odd locations and uploading the photos on social networking sites.

A woman at the dinner party says her friend was trying to demonstrate why planking is a silly trend.

"We were just making light of it, and we balanced on a little stool," she said.

"And then it went a little further. And she fell off the wall. And it all started with why you just don't plank."

Brisbane man Acton Beale, 20, died last weekend in a planking attempt when he fell from a high-rise building, while other planking attempts have left people seriously injured.

What can I say? It appears that we, Australians, are somewhere between silly and stupid. Surprised?

[Pete Zicato]

That one picture reminds me of flagpole sitting - a 1920's fad.

[DucksNuts]

One of the local guys at Dick Smith's was sacked for planking at work.

Its sooooo addictive, I walk along and see some random object..."I could plank that shit".

[SPUCK]

sandypossum; If you want to increase the impact of a planking may I suggest you add something to make it seem more permanent.

With respect to your farmyard style something like putting a live chicken on your back. Maybe sprinkle some feed on your back. That'll add zaniness and some animal interest. It'll look like you've been like that for hours or days. If you could have something like a pygmy goat standing on your back that would be spectacular.

For the non-farm yard effect something like a potted plant would do it. The squirrels in my yard would do it for a walnut. Perhaps a dog just sitting.

[HungLikeJesus]

How about a monkey, riding a dog?