Take This Internet Phenomenon Lying Down

NEWCASTLE, United Kingdom, July 10, 2009 -- The settings in the 1,000 plus photos range from fields to living rooms, public libraries to public toilets, train tracks to mountain tops. One is set on a mail truck. Another is set on two fire hydrants.

Their subjects, however, are peculiarly uniform: a person (or people) lying rigidly face-down, arms stuck to the torso, legs stretching straight out behind, looking like narcoleptic mannequins. The pose is the only rule for the latest Internet phenomenon, called the Lying Down Game.

Players compete, essentially, to capture themselves lying down in the most-restricted settings ("the more public, the better," one Facebook page reads), and the most physically challenging of resting spots, resulting in a flood of law-bending feats of balance and legality, all in the name of attaining the elusive Internet crown of Best Lying Down Photo Ever.

The phenomenon spans several Facebook pages, as the group has more than 15,000 members, from places as far reaching as Australia and Bosnia, who all celebrate the "the globally recognized sport of lying down." The discussion boards are lively, the pictures keep coming and there are plans for mass Lying Down events in London and Newcastle.

Lying Down Game: Ironing Board

The appeal of the sport, understandably, runs as far and wide as the subjects depicted in their photos.

"I heard about this group from friends," Sinead Thompson, from London, said. "You won't want to stop. You find yourself walking down the street looking at things and thinking that I could lie on that, and then you are."

Lying Down Game: Trains

Another enthusiast, Lou Epton from Bradford, who has gained Lying Down Game fame for her picture of a boy on an ironing board, said it is the perfect activity in our current climate. "Anybody from any walk of life can participate and it's a way for us to release our inhibitions," she said. "It's all about reflecting ourselves as unique individuals whilst having a fun time."

Her best photo, she thinks, depicts someone parked in front of an Audi. The stunt, she said, earned them a parking ticket. The police officer responsible is also present in the photo, presumably less than enthusiastic about the phenomenon.

Lying Down Game: Being Ticketed

The ticket, perhaps, is indicative of the inevitable challenges to the sport.

Another Facebook group is named "Accidents, wounds, and breakages," dedicated to the multiple times that members have fallen, bumped and scratched their way to a picture. "I fell off a phone box roof and it really hurt," posted Lying Down-er Elizabeth Webber.

So far, however, on an official level, city authorities are mostly amused and view the phenomenon as harmless, and the thrill of the game seems to have outweighed the disadvantages. Its recent publicity has garnered a rash of new members keen to join the search for the bizarre, the random and the public. Perhaps the phenomenon could be summed up by one comment posted on the Newcastle page:

"Mate, I think this is the best sport ever invented."