Owling Because Planking Is So Two Months Ago

OWLING! Because Planking is old

 

Crouch like an Owl, take a picture, OWLING!

OWLING, because Planking is so two months ago.  Or at least it was according to this photo that was used by the Washington Post in July of 2011 when they covered the new phenomenon.  Have to be honest, I recently tried Planking, just a few nights ago, figuring hey I wrote about it this summer, but never actually did it.  Planking I found through following Google Trends, Owling; Facebook.

A friend posted a link in regards to the new fad on my Facebook page.  At first I thought it was a complete joke, as we had gone to see the owl movie, Legend of the Guardians movie when it came out.   Although Planking hit the trends hard, it seems as though Owling was not far behind.  When Washington Post covered Owling back in July it seemed to just be picking up.  Now, well we all know where Planking went!

Facebook has dozens of pages dedicated to the sport of Owling (technically I believe that is what I can refer to it as).  One page even categorizes itself, as a professional sports team of owlers, having roughly 51,352 likes as of today.  Twitter? #OWLING and find out.

What is this Owling? Well personally I am quite excited to try it myself.  Planking dealt with a person lying as stiff as a board, flat on random objects and taking a snapshot; Owling is a bit more complicated.

Requiring balance and creative endeavor, Owling is not open to everyone in the sense Planking was.  First you have to crouch on your tippy toes, balancing your rear end over them as though you will hop like a bunny rabbit.  Next you have to hold the pose with your hands down at your sides, as though you are an owl sitting on a branch.  Genius? No Owling!

OwlPosts.com is an official site that is starting to gain in popularity. I find it simply amazing how fast Planking, now Owling were able to take ahold of so many minds (and bodies) across the world.  Its all about the pose, the picture that will blow up online and make the individual the next internet sensation.

Oddee.com posted the 12 Weirdest Photos of Owling back on July 15^th of this year.   CNN did a piece on Owling as well in July and I noticed a familiar name accredited with the humor, Cheezburger, of which I know thanks to my roommates who are obsessed with the Cheezburger cats.

Ben Huh, founder of the Cheezburger site, commented on Owling and how it went viral over many other attempts at funny humor.

“Owling is actually more of an indication of how big Planking is,” said Ben Huh, founder of the Cheezburger Network of sites and blogs, which focus largely on Internet humor and memes.

“Planking is kind of like the Rebecca Black of Internet memes,” he said, referring to the “Friday” pop singer. “So many people think it’s so stupid — but they’re watching it and they’re parodying it.”

Owling first took off on the site Reddit.com that is known for paving the way for many of the humor that goes viral on the internet.  An Internet meme, Owling has taken celebrities by force as well, Hilary Duff being one of the most famous owlers

For those who have not yet tried Owling, please be advised it is dangerous, as was Planking.  Be aware of how high you are, where you are crouching and your own personal skills of balancing before you try Owling.

Owling the New Planking YouTube Video

 

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Planking Flash mob in Moscow

Planking requires lying face-down with your hands pressed to the sides of your body. It must be performed suddenly, en mass and in the most unusual locations.

 

This new youth movement was brought to Russia from England (the term comes from the English word plank, or board). The first planking flash mob took place in 1997.

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'Batmanning' Hanging By Your Feet Goes Viral 

on YouTube

 

Don't try this one at home. 

It's called Batmanning. And it may replace planking in the make-your-own trend world, but it seems the danger may outweigh the hilarity of it. To "Batman," one hangs upside down, holding on by only one's feet from a door, bar, gate, ledge, anything. Easy? Not quite.

Searches for "Batmanning" on YouTube yield more crash-and-burns than hang-steadies. It makes sense. That's a lot of weight for your foot and ankle muscles to hold.

In one video, a few giggling teenage girls pick up their friend, an aspiring batmanner, and let her hang on the closet door. They watch, cringing, and then… BOOM! The batmanner falls on her head.

Some come more prepared. There's one video of a worker wearing a helmet as he climbs onto the door, as if he already knows he's going to fall. At one point, the helmet falls off and he insists his co-worker put it back on him. After all, he's busy Batmanning. A few seconds later, the helmet comes in handy.

A group of Purdue University students call themselves the "Batman Boilers" and insist they have shot the first successful batmanning video -- successful both in Batmanning skill and getting it to trend online.

"When we tried Batmanning and found out it was possible, we searched to find that no one had a successful Batmanning video," said Chris Ganz, a member of the Batman Boilers (@BatmanBoilers on Twitter).

Ganz recognizes that as their video begins to trend, young people may try to replicate what they see, which could end in more injury than humor.

"People should use good judgment," Ganz said. "We had people help us down, our buddy catch our feet." These parts were edited out of the now-trending video, up 10,000 views from this morning and blowing up on Twitter.

Although these stunts are all in good fun, tragic realities do come into play. A 20-year-Australian man plunged to his death while planking earlier this year.

In comparison to planking, Ganz says Batmanning will absolutely compete, but admits, "there's definitely an aspect that makes it more dangerous."

Twitter user @BatMan173 tweeted, "BATMANNING ... cause planking is for the weak."

YouTube user zedrseven said, "Fantastic. Can't wait for all the news stories about the increase in head & neck related injuries sustained by all the saddos that will do anything to 'fit in'…"

So is this just a dangerous popularity contest? Or a harmless way to have fun? Many tweeters, Facebook and YT commenters have had enough. They say between planking, owling, coneing, and Batmanning, the element of surprise is over. 

Spidermanning, anyone?

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Batmanning Replaces Planking: VIDEO

Batmanning sees planking and raises it a head injury

 

Original Batmanning Video

 

THE FIRST EVER ORIGINAL BATMANNING VIDEO DONE BY THE BATMAN BOILERS! FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @BATMANBOILERS

 

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