Planking, a relatively recent fad from Australia, is gaining popularity here in Singapore.
Even the death of one Australian planker does not deter Singaporeans from picking up the activity. In fact, it seems to have spurred the movement.
A local facebook page (which incidentally was created on the same day that the Australian planker fell to his death) has garnered over 1,700 people who “Like” this act. Fans upload photos of themselves planking in places like on sidewalks, stairway railings, escalators, in the middle of the road (yes, in front of oncoming traffic), among other more dangerous—and even illegal—locations (think roofs and balconies).
The “rules” of planking are simple: lay face down with arms to your sides in an unusual public spaces and take a photo.
What may come across has a harmless act can also be quite dangerous according to 15-year-old planker Tiffany Lange. She and her friends like to plank in crowded shopping malls, counter tops at food stalls, queues for lines and inside the MRT.
“We usually don’t plank in extremely dangerous or high areas but when we do, we have our friends standing around the planker just in the rare case of a slip; safety always comes first,” Lange said.
Since planking has gained popularity through social media, and is now currently a worldwide trend, more plankers are taking the challenge up a notch or two. Since it’s becoming more common for people to plank at common places like the shopping mall, they attempt to out-plank each other by planking on roofs and moving cars, according to Lange.
Can Singapore’s first casualty be far behind?
