Facebook 'planking' craze claims life in Australia

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/planking-craze-claims-life-australia-082328649.html

Facebook 'planking' craze claims life in Australia

By Crock | AFP News – Sun, 15 May, 2011

A new craze sweeping the Internet known as " planking " claimed a life in

Australia Sunday and police fear the tragedy may not be the last.

Planking involves someone lying flat on their stomach with their arms against

their bodies in unusual and sometimes dangerous situations, with photographs of

their exploits shared through social media sites.

It has gone viral in recent weeks with Facebook page Planking Australia boasting

over 55,000 fans and hundreds of photos of people lying on train tracks,

escalators, fire hydrants, motorbikes and other objects.

Police last week warned " plankers " of the dangers and their fears have been

realised with the death of a man in Brisbane who plummeted from a seventh-storey

balcony and died at the scene.

" This morning we have seen a young man take this activity a step further and

attempt to plank on a balcony. Unfortunately he has tragically fallen to his

death, " Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett said.

The man, who has not been named, and another person had been out during the

night and were planking in various locations on their way home.

" It is what we've been fearing, " added Barnett, but could not say whether it was

Australia's first death from the craze.

Barnett said he was worried that more injuries would occur as people try to

out-do each other by planking in increasingly precarious positions to get the

ultimate photo.

" Police fear that as planking gains popularity there may be more injuries and

potentially further deaths, " he said, adding that it may appear to be

light-hearted fun but can quickly turn to tragedy.

" Accepting a risk of injury for yourself is one thing, but the potential is

there for others to be injured as a result of your behaviour. "

Last week, a 20-year-old, also in Queensland state, was arrested after being

allegedly found " planking " on a police car. He was charged with being on police

equipment without lawful excuse.

Police issued warnings of the dangers at the time but the publicity only seemed

to fuel the fad.

" If other people break the law during this activity they will be charged as

well, " warned Barnett.

" But no penalty will ever return this young man to his family and friends. This

is a tragedy and our condolences go to the family. "

Facebook tributes immediately started pouring in for the dead man.

" R.I.P Fellow planker, " said one posting on the Australian Planking page.

" I didn't know him, but he was a planker like the rest of us. "

Another wrote: " Stay safe dudes, plank carefully. "

But not everyone was sympathetic.

" Seriously, people are so dumb. Get over this stupid planking thing, " another

post said.

[Guest guest]

I've seen a couple of those videos but not on Facebook. Honestly I see this as Darwinism in action: wiping out some of the dummies on the planet.

On the other hand, the fact that so many are doing this and other dangerous stunts seems to indicate a downward shift in the intelligence of humanity. Then again, some of the kids I grew up with were just like that. Its a wonder they didn't kill themselves.

In a message dated 5/15/2011 5:23:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

Facebook 'planking' craze claims life in Australia

[Guest guest]

" On the other hand, the fact that so many are doing this and other dangerous

stunts seems to indicate a downward shift in the intelligence of humanity. Then

again, some of the kids I grew up with were just like that. Its a wonder they

didn't kill themselves. "

With the increasing number of reality shows and movies like Jackass, it seems

like the world is reverting back to caveman days. But maybe we should be

thankful for that. Most cavemen were thought to be shortlived.

Administrator