If you see somebody lying prone on top of a goalpost, outside the Dáil, or on the floor of Abrakebabra, don’t worry: they’re probably just posing for a facedown photo. Here comes the next silly internet phenomenon

A MAN FLOPS face down on a sea of supermarket trolleys. A body lies horizontally inside a deli meat counter. Three bridesmaids and a bride are prone on a nicely carpeted floor.

No, this is not the aftermath of a zombie rampage in a schlocky horror film, but a phenomenon called facedown (no relation to Facebook).

The idea is simple. Lie face down somewhere, arms by your side, and get someone to take a photo. Ta-da, you’re now part of an ongoing underground project. Some say it’s art, others say it’s sport, but everyone agrees it’s funny and insane.

Over the past couple of years, people in Ireland have clambered on to hoardings, lain down on airport tarmac and perched precariously on bridges (don’t try this at home, kids) all in the name of facedown-ing it.

At first glance, it has all the trappings of most internet fads and memes (thankfully people have stopped badgering me to be a vampire or pirate on Facebook), but has gathered momentum since kicking off in 2006.

Three American students – Amy Mihyang and brother and sister Michael and Lynn Chealander – decided to mess around with the concept of the “tourist photo”: you know, the ones where you pose uncomfortably in shorts, next to Big Ben/the Statue of Liberty/a gold Buddha, smiling with all the naturalness of Gordon Brown. Although the trio’s blog features only images of them, hundreds of people have taken their idea and run with it.

Irish fans have FD-d (too soon for abbreviations?) on top of Garda cars, road signs and goalposts.

Miyhang – born in South Korea and adopted in the US – has said that the locations are important. One of her facedown photos features her lying in front of a soldier on the Korean side of the demilitarised zone. There’s also a shot of her on the ground at Obama’s inauguration, with two tense police officers looking on (they were about to move her on apparently).

The friends have taken pictures in more than 24 countries and various US states, lying corpse-like in front of Times Square, the Vatican and the Giant’s Causeway.

Location is everything. Facedown-ing in your sitting room/office/driveway, fascinating places though they may be, misses the point. So if you see someone lying on the ground in Stephen’s Green or on the floor of Abrakebabra, don’t assume that they’ve had one sherry too many – and look out for the camera.

http://facedowns.wordpress.com/, twitter.com/facedowns, http://ht.ly/1I6xB