It's a fairly new phenomenon. People conspiring to look spontaneous in unison. A sort of choreographed chaos - albeit for entertainment, artistic impression or as a type of some informal protest.

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Flash mobs have been around since 2003, when Harper's Magazine editor Bill Wasik set up a group to perform at Macy's department store in Manhattan. After the 130 participants met up at different staging areas, they descended on the store's ninth floor rug department, while another 200 congregated in the lobby of the Hyatt hotel, all applauding for 15 seconds.

The initial attempts set the stage for much more elaborate acts of synchronized satire. Take the great Worldwide pillow fight day of 2005 and the Silent Disco event in London in 2006, with a reported 4,000 participants.

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The movement has spawned a website, flashmobamerica.com, where you can learn about upcoming mobs and even register one if you're so inclined.

One of the craziest mobs I found on the Internet involves 13.957 people in Mexico dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," which is a natural for a flash mob, with its popular choreographed dance number.

Australia has gotten into the act as well. Two of the more famous from the land down under are a mob in sync at Bondi Beach. More than 100 dancers participated in DJ Dan Murphy's number, featuring one of the most famous drag queens, Joyce Maynge.

The other Aussie moment was staged at Central Station in Sydney, where a crowd fell in to perform "The Move Movement," which was a charity program promoting a healthy active lifestyle.

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At any rate, here's the flash mobs I'd like to see around here. And no, I won't be participating - someone has to stand by and cheer the participants on.

1. Finishers in the Dirty Dash, mud head to toe, dancing and singing Nigel Olsson's "A Little Bit of Soap."

2. All the sun worshippers down at City Beach on a hot summer day, falling into ranks and jiving to Sheryl Crow's "Soak up the Sun."

3. All the Idaho natives disgusted with the influx of out-of-staters could converge at the border and belt out Sonny Ratcliff's "Go Back Where You Came From."

4. Thousands of North Idahoans could dress in rubber duck suits and wade into the Spokane River en masse, floating toward Q'emiln Park as they attempt to perform Ernie's "Rubber Ducky Song" from Sesame Street. After they finish, it would be a sprint to the finish under the Spokane Street bridge, winner gets a ride back to Coeur d'Alene.

5. Non-dog owners could all congregate on Tubbs Hill, and fling the easily-found doggy doo toward any dog owner who approaches without a plastic baggie for Fido's "indiscretions." Song of choice would be Elton John's "Amoreena" which plays during the opening credits of the film "Dog Day Afternoon" - I know it's a stretch, but work with me here.

6. A line could stretch from the counter at Hudson's Hamburgers to the sand at City Beach, passing steaming hot burgers down to the water (Hey, a burger brigade!), all while the crowd belts out Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger in Paradise."

7. A string of protesters could show up on the Dike Road surrounding North Idaho College and deliver Michael Mitchell's tune "Little Trees" in defiance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers request to rid the shoreline of 500 trees.

8. A crowd converges on the rodeo event at this year's North Idaho Fair and Rodeo decked out in boots, spurs and chaps, and hams it up to Toby Keith's "Should've Been a Cowboy."

9. When and if McEuen Park ever gets a renovation, a crowd could gather and sing Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" (you know - "They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot"), but they'd have to sing it backward. Good luck with that.

10. I'd like to see a crowd show up in Sandpoint when they decide to fix the byway supports that are cracking and break out with John Mellencamp's "Crumbling Down."

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I'm open to anything you fair readers come up with. Let's insert a little "mob" mentality in North Idaho.

Jerry Hitchcock couldn't choreograph his way out of a paper bag, but he is a copy editor for The Press. He can be reached at 6648176, Ext. 2017, or via email at [email protected].