More people with too much time on their hands

A story on the Globe and Mail website describes the newest craze: planking. For fuck's sake.

Are you getting pumped for the first ever Global Planking Day? More than 10,000 people who like to lie face down straight as a board sure are.

Planking, a phenomenon that started in Australia, is simple enough: “You must always lay face down, ensuring your face remains expressionless for the duration of the plank. Your legs must remain straight, and together with toes pointed.

Your arms must be placed by your side, held straight and fingers pointed,” according to the “Official” Planking Facebook page. The group also advises that you “must make it known that you are Planking” andd that “safety should always be considered.”
The real fun, however, seems to be photographing yourself planking on just about anything: on top of your fridge, on the sidewalk, on top of a bookshelf, on a pool table, on a store’s counter.

One man in Australia was charged after he was allegedly caught planking on top of a police car. Planking has become popular enough in Australia that police there are cracking down on it.

“Police, authorized officers and transport providers strongly discourage this type of behaviour around public transport and roads areas, and those caught will be prosecuted,” a police spokeswoman told the Herald Sun, an Australian newspaper. On Sunday, after police issued that warning, a man in his twenties fell to his death from a balcony railing while a friend was photographing him planking, the BBC reported. But it's not just a phenomenon Down Under. Enough people around the world are in to it that it’s more than 10, 000 devotees are organizing the first ever Global Planking Day on May 25.

If you’re wondering whether or not Canada will be represented on the big day, just ask these folks.