LIFE CLAIMED BY INTERNET 'PLANKING' CRAZE Published Oct. 26, 2011 By Tim Barela Torch Magazine AUSTRALIA -- When a 20-year-old Australian man fell seven stories to his death while planking on a high-rise balcony railing, it brought a whole new level of "crazy" to the planking craze. Planking, the on-line fad where people lie face down as stiff as a board in odd places, has taken on deadly consequences. This internet phenomenon is widely believed to have gotten its start in England, but has since gone global with hundreds of thousands of photos posted on-line. But as people try to outdo each other, the wacky game has gotten riskier and deadlier. Type "planking" in just about any search engine and photos of people lying rigid on signs, basketball hoops, ladders, light poles, chimneys and other less than safe spots abound. One man was critically injured recently when planking from the roof of a moving car. He fell from the vehicle headfirst and was rushed to the hospital in a battle for his life. Despite the injuries and even deaths, planking has shown no signs of slowing down. If anything, the mishaps seem to have created more interest and garnered new planking recruits. Even a recent episode of the popular sitcom "The Office" featured the actors planking. "As people take these planking photos, they are trying to stand out in a pool of hundreds of thousands of pictures on-line," said Robbie Bogard, with the Air Education and Training Command Ground Safety Division. "Unfortunately, in their pursuit to be the most shocking, many are throwing common sense and risk management out the window. It's about making smart decisions. Lying across railroad tracks or planking from a skyscraper probably aren't the best life choices."