The objective of planking is simple: Find a place to lay face down, stay completely still and unresponsive, and have a buddy snap a picture of it to post online. The weirder the location, the better—especially if it’s in public, like on a park bench, in a flowerbed, or right in the middle of the road.

Two Taiwanese girls, Jinyu 25, in Taipei, and Karren, 28, in Taichung, have come up with the most unusual form of art -- lying face down on the streets while having their photographs taken.

In 2011 the game resurfaced on Facebook with the name “Planking”, and the FB page has over 143,000 likes as of May 16th, 2011.12 It started to become a sensational news story in Australian media, and was further spread when Australian rugby player David “Wolfman” Williams started using it as a signature move during rugby games on March 27th, 2011.

That said, we’re a little peeved at the whole planking craze. Why? Because everyone in these photos is totally doing it wrong. Look, here at Men’s Health, we live and die by the plank. In one exercise, you can sculpt a six-pack and stabilize the spine, preventing lower back pain. It’s one of the best core exercises you can possibly do, which is why we cringe when we look at pictures of everyone laying on the ground like a cadaver and passing it off as a plank.

Lying Down Game, also known as planking in Australia, is a mass-participatory meme that involves having one’s photograph taken whilst lying rigidly face down in public space and then sharing the image via internet. Since becoming popular through Facebook1 around June 2009, the viral game has spawned thousands of photos of people lying flat in public landscapes across the world

More Public the Better. Larger the Group, the Better. No location is out of bound when playing the game. Palm of hands held against the sides, toes touching the ground. A disregard for personal safety is to be held in higher esteem.

In 2006, two UK friends Gary Clarkson and Christian Langdon created a Facebook group, which attracted over 1500 facebook users within the first two weeks.1 Dubbed as “the most bizarre internet meme” by blogs and local news media, the game eventually went international with contributions from across the world. Today, Lying Down Game’s Facebook page boasts over 99,000 followers and 19,000+ image submissions.

It's all fun and games until some Australian guy falls to his death from a 7th-floor balcony while having his picture taken. Facebook.com/Planking Following the "really tragic" demise of of Acton Beale, 20, Australian prime minister Julia Gillard attempted to call an end to the latest Facebook craze Down Under, "planking" — the apparently super-fun practice of having one's photo snapped while lying board-stiff in an awkward location, for the purpose of uploading that photo on Facebook.