LAMPANG — The police in northern Thailand arrested the attention of netizens nationwide after they tried their hand at the “Tetris Challenge,” the latest global internet craze.
In a photo posted by the Region 5 Police’s official Facebook account, a squad of police patrol are shown lying flat on the pavement, their equipment scattered all around them – from motorcycles and checkpoint signs to first aid kits and tridents.
The tridents, by the way, are described by one policeman as a vital tool for fighting “knife-wielding madmen” (oddly specific?).
The strange postures are obviously part of the “Tetris Challenge” meme, which involves emergency responders around the world posing like action figures on a road next to all their equipment, and then uploading their images online.
One police officer in the now-viral image said the photoshoot took place at Lampang Police Station on Oct. 8, and all of the instruments seen in the image are indeed carried by every patrol car.
“We want to show the equipment we carry all the time,” said the officer, who declined to be named because his station doesn’t allow policemen talking to the media. “It’s the policy of Region 5 Police. We must be prepared at all times.”
He said one of his colleagues came up with the idea after seeing emergency responders in other countries participating in the meme.
As of publication time, the post has seized at least 5,900 reactions, 4,000 shares, and a lot of laughs from netizens.
“I spent a lot of time staring and it. I thought they were toy models, and I was about to order one for myself! Very cute 5555,” user Yonrawee Somsri wrote.
Because this is the Thai police we’re talking about, another user couldn’t help taking a teasing jab.
“They’re missing a foldable table and chair,” Sippawit Phanchai commented, referring to a common sight of police fining traffic law violators.
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