If you’ve touched social media (especially Facebook) in the last two weeks, you’ve undoubtedly seen the Ice Bucket Challenge. The challenge was started with intentions to go viral as individuals challenged their friends to dump buckets of, you guessed it, ice and water on their heads. It has evolved past awareness for the ALS foundation as it has lead to record donations by the people icing themselves. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis was most commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and as Gehrig’s name has begun fading from the public consciousness even after a rekindling during Cal Ripken’s major league run in the 1990’s, ALS’s notoriety had fallen by the wayside as well.
With the challenge going viral like many other trends on social media such as the Cinnamon Challenge or the Fire Challenge, this one was one that pretty much anyone could pull off with relative ease and gave a quick laugh to those watching. With celebrities like Charlie Sheen and Lady Gaga putting their own spin on it, ALS charities raised over 15.6 million dollars so far and the number continues to grow.
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