Why the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is pure genius

If you haven't heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, or just the ice bucket challenge in general, it's basically where you get a bucket of ice water and dump it on your head.

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There is some confusion as to whether you should donate to the ALS Association within 24hrs or do the challenge, or do the challenge within 24hrs or donate. In any case, you get to nominate three other people to do it after you.

The ALS Association is a charity set up for supporting people with ALS and funding research into the condition (better known in Australia as Motor Neurome Disease, or less tactfully "What Stephen Hawking Has"). It has raised millions for them over the past few weeks.

So why has it become so popular?

- It's not hard or hurtful. The challenge is daunting enough to make the average person think twice, and cause some discomfort, but generally it's not going to hurt you (unless you stuff it up - and yes there are some people who have harmed themselves by being silly!).

- It's humiliating, and we all like to see people humiliated on the internet!

- The celeb factor. Everyone loves to see a celebrity get behind a great cause, but watching them dump cold water of themselves seems to send people into paroxyms of delight.

Negatives - most celeb Ice Bucket videos I've seen don't even mention the ALS Association or their donation. It wasn't until I saw Kochie do it on Sunrise yesterday that I realised it was a charity drive! However, the hashtag #ALSIceBucketChallenge is gaining traction and should make the average social media viewer realise the whole thing is being done for a reason.

Charlie Sheen just poured money on himself, which works.

And lastly, it's a massive waste of water when there are many, many people in our world who lack decent access to it.

However, I still think it's a great idea for fundraising and whoever thought of it deserves a raise. My faves so far are Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman.








What do you think of the Ice Bucket Challenge?