The internet fad of lying face-down in unusual locations is called planking.
In planking, a person lies face-down with the body held straight and rigid, usually with the hands touching the sides. Photographs of participants on benches, desks, sidewalks, furniture, and other incongruous surfaces helped turn the activity into a global internet fad. The name compares the body’s stiff horizontal shape with a wooden plank.
The behavior has several earlier forms and names. Two boys in Edmonds, Washington, reportedly practiced a version called “face dancing” in 1983 or 1984. In England, a similar activity was known as the “lying down game” from the late 1990s. The term “planking” was coined in Adelaide, Australia, in 2008, and social-media sharing helped the fad spread internationally.
Planking peaked around 2011 and inspired variations such as owling and batmanning. It also caused safety concerns: some participants chose elevated or dangerous locations, and at least one fatal accident was associated with the craze. “Plank” can also mean a core exercise, but that is a different use.