A planking-like activity, called face dancing by its participants, was initiated in 1984 in Edmonds, Washington in the US by Scott Amy and Joel Marshall. The two high school age boys were walking in a park when they came upon a baseball game.

Why was planking popular?

“Planking was a way to transport slaves on ships during the slave trade, its [sic] not funny,” Xzibit tweeted. “Educate yourselves.” Planking has risen in popularity over the past year as a viral prank with people posting photos of themselves lying face down stiff as a board in random locations.

Who invented plank exercise?

The plank was first developed by a man called Stuart McGill, who discovered that if you were in a face down position, you could effectively activate the deep abdominal muscles otherwise known as the transverse abdominis.