The craze of being photographed lying face down in a bizarre situation is called “planking”. Enthusiastic fans describe planking as a “global participatory art project”, while others dismiss it as the “lazy man’s free-running” and a “pointless internet phenomenon”. But whether or not you are a fan, thanks to the internet, planking is increasingly popular in many different countries across the world. Planking began in Britain about 14 years ago when a couple of bored teenage friends, Gary Clarkson and Christian Langdon, started what they called “the lying down game”.  The game consisted of Clarkson or Langdon photographing each other lying down in an unusual place. They did this for their own fun and the amusement of any interested onlookers. As one of the founders admitted,” It really was just a stupid and random thing to do.”
 
Over time, planking spread by word of mouth and rules started to develop. Firstly, the planker must lie face down, palms flat