"Brand New" Planking Craze Is "Old And Busted" Lying Down Game

Some Australian news reports would have you believe that Planking is a brand new craze. As it turns out, the Lying Down Game (as it was previously known) has been around since at least 2006 and had spread across the globe by 2009.

• Exhibit A: Sky News Coverage of L.D.G. Circa 2009

  This 2009 broadcast from British news agency Sky News already shows the rigid posture of the Lying Down Game, differentiating it from the French "plat ventre" or the broader forms of Playing Dead.

• Lying Down Game on Facebook

  

  Many photos that appear on the Planking Facebook page have been reuploaded after already appearing on the Lying Down Game Facebook page.

• Know Your Meme

  Last year, Know Your Meme created this video explaining the differences between both The Lying Down Game (rigid) and Playing Dead (loose). Exactly how and why L.G.D. became known as "planking" is uncertain, but I suspect it has to do with how Aussies call shrimps prawns.

• The Daily Mail even used Lying Down Game photos in coverage of "Planking"

  

• UPDATE: Ellen Page Already Taught You How To Play L.D.G.

  

  Matt Stopera posted this picture of Ellen Page playing The Lying Down Game back in January.