The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The newest craze in the U.S. is to dump ice water on yourself to support ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. If you fail to complete the challenge within 24 hours of being "called out" you must donate $100 to the cause. I know what your thinking. Why would that help out at all? Wouldn't everyone just dump water on themselves and not donate? You'd think (and so did I), but you'd be wrong.

According to the New York Times most of the people that are doing the "Ice Bucket Challenge" are also donating money to the ALS charity. In fact in just the 3 short weeks since this challenge began the ALS Association has raised $13.3 million. In the same time period last year they only raised $1.7 million. That is a 782% increase over last year.

According to the ALS Association website Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis affects the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. It degenerates the motor neurons that basically tell your muscles to move. Eventually these neurons die and all muscle movement is lost. Patients in the later stages of this horrible disease may become completely paralyzed.

Now that everyone is thoroughly depressed, here is my video of the "Ice Bucket Challenge", and with the help of my wife it was done on a bike.

Thanks for reading!