From planking to baby mugging, via cat breading and dogs in pantyhose, IBTimesUK charts some of the most popular crazes that have swept the Internet.
The granddaddy of internet crazes, planking started life on Facebook as The Lying Down Game in June 2009. It became an international craze in early 2011 when it caught on among Australian Facebook users Wikimedia CommonsOwling is a photo fad in which people sit in a perched position while looking off into the distance. In July 2011, a Reddit user posted the first picture, with the caption "Owling, because planking is so two months ago". See the Facebook group for more photosJamie CarterTebowing: photos of people dropping to one knee and bowing their heads in prayer in a tribute to devout Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. The first Tebowing photo was posted in October 2011, after Tebow was photographed praying when his team beat the Miami Dolphins 18-15. See more examples hereFlickrQuidditching or Pottering involves photos of people jumping into the air with a broom between their legs so that it looks like they're playing the Harry Potter sport Quidditch. The first photo was posted on Reddit in August 2012 and the fad was popularised in March 2013 when the Public Pottering group was set up on FacebookFacebookLeisure diving refers to the act of jumping into a swimming pool, and striking a nonchalant pose in mid-air. The craze was started when two Harvard Business School graduates posted the first pictures in summer 2011. See more examples at their websitewww.leisuredive.comMilking involves pouring a bottle of milk over your head in a public place and posting the video to YouTube. The craze was started by a group of Newcastle students in November 2012. See Milking Newcastle on YouTube for videosYouTubeHorsemanning originally dates back to the 1920s, but became an internet fad when Buzzfeed featured a photo in August 2011. The craze involves someone lying on a flat surface, head hanging over the edge, hidden from view, while someone else hides behind the hidden body with only the head showing, making it look like the person has been beheaded. See more examples hereJuanjo BazánThe Hadouken craze involves photos of two or more people seemingly involved in a mid-air attack as seen in the video game Street Fighter or the manga series Dragon Ball. Pictures began circulating on South Korean web sites as early as 2009, but only reached western audiences in March 2013. See more examples hereGlenn EulothDog shaming is a fad in which pets are photographed near signs detailing their bad behaviour. The Dogshaming Tumblr was launched in August 2012Ish FrostDogs wearing pantyhose is a craze that involves taking pictures of dogs wearing pantyhose on their back legs. It started in April 2013 when a user posted this photo to the Chinese social network Weibo. See more examples hereweibo/UlatangCat breading is a photo fad that involves taking pictures of cats with their heads poking out of a slice of bread. The first photo was posted to Reddit in August 2011, and the practice became a craze in August 2012 when newspapers published photos submitted to the official Facebook groupKatie LairdBatmanning is a photo and video craze that involves hanging upside down from your feet. The fad became popular in September 2011 when its Facebook group received media attentionShane RounceBaby Mugging is an Instagram craze that uses the optical illusion of forced perspective to make it look like a baby is sitting in a mug. The craze was started in April 2013 by Ilana Wiles on her blog Mommy Shorts @froggyleggs