Melanie Diggs Assignment 5 Soc 167

Laney Diggs

21956066

Assignment 5

            Planking can be first seen in the 1990’s used by comedian and former MTV host Tom Green in one of his comedic pranks.  Being credited as the first to “plank” Green created this phenomenon by laying face down on a street.  However, the planking craze did not get popular until 2011 (Google Insights Search 2004-present) when two bored schoolboys decided to make a game of it.  They started laying face down, with their feet together and their arms at their sides, in different locations to view the reactions of the people passing by.  It quickly caught fire in popularity after they created the Facebook page for their game and received many followers.  It peaked its popularity in July of 2011 before falling drastically by the end of 2011 and steadily declining throughout 2013 (Google Insights Search 2004-Present).  It became around the world, but most popular in the Philippines and Paraguay.

            Due to its simplicity and humor, planking became a popular phenomenon.  Any individual can participate; all you need is a device that will photograph yourself laying facedown at any location.  The humor of it can come from viewing the reactions of the people passing by or viewing someone planking in the most random location.  In addition, it became a game for many people trying to find the most original locations to “plank”.   An example of a planking picture can be seen here:

            This planking meme also created spin offs.  These spin offs include “owling” and “teapotting” (Wikipedia, 2013).  Owling consists of an individual squatting in unusual places specifically for people to see while making owl-screeching noises.  Similarly teapotting consists of individuals putting one hand on their hip and the other hand bent to the side to look like a spout.  While these spinoffs were popular, nothing can compare to the popularity of the original “planking”.

Sources:

Google Insights Interest, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

Luippold, Ross. "Tom Green Created 'Planking' In 1994 (VIDEO)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 July 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

Meltzer, Tom. "Planking: A Brief History." The Guardian. N.p., 16 May 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

"Planking (fad)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.