From Switzerland to Singapore, emergency services from law enforcement, search and rescue to firefighting teams have joined the "Tetris Challenge" – lying down with all their tools and vehicles in a grid pattern to take an aerial photograph.  

Also known as "knolling" the trend involves placing objects neatly on the ground and provides a great opportunity to show the contents of an emergency vehicle.

Origin 

On 1 September 2019, the Facebook page for the Zurich police department in Switzerland posted a picture of two officers lying on the ground next to their equipment and car. The description of the picture translated into English reads: "If you have always wanted to know what is in a traffic patrol car – here you go. We wish you a #happy Sunday." The photo attracted more than 4,500 reactions and 1,000 shares in a couple of weeks and inspired other units to take up the challenge.

Going Global: From Switzerland to Singapore

The trend has spanned continents from Europe to Asia. The Singapore Civil Defence Force posted a photo from the Sengkang Fire Station on its official Instagram account, writing: "We've seen the latest online trending #TetrisChallenge where netizens from other countries get a look at their respective emergency responders' sprawl of equipment and, guess what, we in The Life Saving Force simply could not resist sharing with you what we have too!" 

Hungary's police also joined in, showing their reflective jackets, weapons, traffic cones, shields, handcuffs, other tools and even two police dogs are in the picture.

The trend also reached The Netherlands, where the Dutch police joined in. One post read: "The police car is actually a kind of toolbox on wheels. But do you actually know what's in it?" And then listed some of the items: "Two flashlights, a fire extinguisher, safety goggles, work gloves, safety helmets, two police officers, a broom, marking crayons, and trauma bears."

Twitter user Alice Brine followed by asking the New Zealand Police to take their own knolling photo, and they replied using the hashtag "youarewelcome".