Know The History: The Planking Edition

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Chris Brown… Flava Flav… Big Sean… These are just some of our favorite artists and celebrities joining in on the hot, new craze Planking. But would it be so hot if people knew where its origins lie?

Planking actually started out in the days of slavery. Slaves captured in Africa were forced to lay on planks, side by side on their stomachs, and had their wrists chained to their waists aboard slave ships during the transatlantic “Middle Passage” journey. Slaves were also often stacked one on top of the other. Many died during this cruel, inhuman and un-hygenic trip. Many, many more died during slavery. The picture above gives you an accurate depiction of planking, also often called packing. Planking was reintroduced as this new fad by two men traveling across Europe.

So before you go ahead and jump on the latest bandwagon and engage in acts of tomfoolery, be sure to know the history of were said acts come from. Ignorance is not an excuse, but it is, it seems, sometimes a way of life.

** Normally I’m simply the Tech Editor here on Hip Hop Democrat, bringing you the latest and greatest in the tech world. And normally, I’m not the one to preach, because a good majority of society today(myself sometimes included), just doesn’t respond well to preaching outside of our respective religious institutions. What I am, however, is a self proclaimed history buff(as well as tech guru)which I inherited from my Mother. And being such, when the 411 needs to be dropped on the masses, I will most definitely do the dropping…**

Will knowing the history of "Planking" cause you to stop?

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About The Author

Kamil M Abdullah has been a self proclaimed techie and bonafide smart phone expert nearly half of his life. Starting with the very first Sidekick(not necessarily a smart phone but close enough) to Blackberry to Symbian to Windows(Mobile & Phone 7) to Web OS to Android, he has used virtually every smart phone operating system. Kamil has also worked with computer programming in Bloomberg's Data Center and Backup Operations on their proprietary software. In his quest for further knowledge in mobile operating systems, Kamil voraciously devours any reading material on the subject he can find. Kamil is also a hip hop head to the fullest, having fallen in love with the art form from the very first "a hip hop the hibby to the hibby the hip hip the hop" and tr808 beat. He promises to use his vast powers and knowledge only for the good of mankind.