By The "Harlem Shake" has not been welcome everywhere. Up to 15 miners in Australia were fired after they put a video on the Web of eight men performing the dance craze deep underground, according to the Australian newspaper The West.
What got the miners in trouble? Some had removed their protective gear for the video.
The Australian paper reported that the mining company Barminco canned the six-figure salary workers and banned them from working at any of their projects around the globe. One of the ousted workers complained that the company had overreacted, saying dancing miners were just "having a bit of fun."
"Underground mining has strict safety standards as there are accidents and fatalities. The Barminco management saw this as a breach of standards," spokesman Sven Lunsche told Reuters.
For those living in a hole, the "Harlem Shake" dance has become a Web sensation. The videos usually start with one person doing the dance move to the bass-driven track, then cuts of several—sometimes lots—more people joining in, often in themed costumes.
The paper said some of the workers said they had taken off their shirts so the mining company’s name would not show. Other miners fired did not participate, but watched from the sidelines.
This isn’t the first time a "Harlem Shake" video has made trouble for its Web stars. Far above ground, students from Colorado College’s Ultimate Frisbee team made a sky-high video dancing in the aisles of a Frontier Airlines flight. Called “Harlem Shake Frontier Flight 157," it caught the eye of the FAA, which is looking for evidence that regulations were not followed. Frontier spokeswoman Kate O'Malley told Reuters that ”safety measures were followed and the seat belt sign was off."
A student on the plane said that they had asked permission beforehand.