The Ice Bucket Challenge
What is the Ice Bucket Challenge?
According to the rules of the Ice Bucket Challenge, a person has to take a video of themselves dumping ice-cold water over their heads and then post it online. They can then nominate two of their friends to complete the challenge as well. The people who have been nominated are given 24 hours to complete the challenge.
What purpose does this serve?
While getting soaked in ice-cold water is as painful as it is uncomfortable, the reason people all over the world are doing it is because it is for a good cause. The challenge has been devised as a way to raise money for the ALS Association, an American body that is researching Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Participants are given a choice: either get a bucket of icy water tipped over your head or donate $100. Many people choose to do both. So far, over 15 million dollars have been raised to spread awareness about the motor neurone disease. In Britain the money is being donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Who all have participated?
As the Ice Bucket Challenge began to gather steam, several celebrities have taken up the cause. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Robert Downey Jr., Lady Gaga, Conan O'Brien, Ben Affleck, Oprah Winfrey, Cristiano Ronaldo and The Rock are just some of the celebrities that have icy water dumped on their heads. Some of them did it with more fanfare than others - Le Bron James did it on the deck of a yacht in Greece, while Justin Beiber did it twice, nominating Ellen DeGeneres and Obama to do it next. The US President has declined all previous nominations to take part, contributing monetarily instead.
In India, the I-League football champions Bangalore FC took up the challenge as a team, getting soaked in icy cold water and then nominating Ashwini Ponnappa, Sania Mirza and Yuvraj Singh to do it as well. Tennis player Rohan Bopanna also took up the challenge, and nominated Rahul Bose to do it after him. Bose chose not to, saying that he would save clean water and donate money instead.
How did it start?
The Ice Bucket Challenge started a little while ago, but it became a popular internet phenomenon only when Boston College alumni Pete Frates' family started their own campaign against ALS. Frates, a baseball player, was diagnosed with ALS two years ago.
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