Why Are All These People Pouring Buckets Of Ice Over Themselves?

In case you’ve missed this, celebrities all over the world are challenging each other to pour a bucket of ice over themselves. If you’re curious why, read on.

Either way, safe to say that Bill Gates came up with the most creative way of doing this.
In this video you can see the machine he built to pour ice water over himself.

Mark Zuckerberg asked, and Bill Gates answered! Bill decided to take on Mark’s nomination to do the ALC Ice Bucket Challenge and even got a little creative with it. Bill created a pulley contraption, so he could easily dump an entire cooler of freezing cold water on himself!

So why are they doing this?? Actually, it’s in the name of science.

The ALS Association is the only national non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease on every front. By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure.

The ALS Association has announced that it has surpassed $10 million in “Ice Bucket” donations. Specifically, as of Saturday, August 16, 2014, The ALS Association has received $11.4 million in donations compared to $1.7 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 16). These donations have come from existing donors and 220,255 new donors to The Association.

In a message posted today to The ALS Association’s website, which discusses how The ALS Association will use this incredible outpouring of support to fight ALS, Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association said:

“Never before have we been in a better position to fuel our fight against this disease. Increased awareness and unprecedented financial support will enable us to think outside the box. We will be able to strategize about efforts in ways that previously would not have been possible, all while we work to fulfill and enhance our existing mission priorities nationwide.”

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Eventually, people with ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. There is no cure and only one drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that modestly extends survival. Veterans are approximately twice as likely be diagnosed with the disease.

“Words cannot express how incredibly grateful we are to the tens of thousands of people who have donated to support the fight against ALS,” said Newhouse. “The money and the awareness generated through this effort are truly game-changers in the fight against this disease.”

The ALS Association’s mission includes providing care services to assist people with ALS and their families through a network of chapters working in communities across the nation and a global research program focused on the discovery of treatments and eventually a cure for the disease. In addition, The Association’s public policy efforts empower people to advance public policies in our nation’s Capital that respond to the needs of people with ALS.

These priorities include:

Funding groundbreaking research in laboratories across the globe. We presently support 98 active projects and recently announced $3.5 million in funding for 21 new projects led by the world’s top scientists. The ALS Association has championed some of the most significant discoveries to date.

Providing vital support and care services through our nationwide network of chapters to people with ALS and their families in the form of support groups, medical equipment, respite grants and more, all while ensuring the highest standards of multi-disciplinary care through our Certified Treatment Centers of Excellence.

Empowering ALS advocates to encourage their elected officials to support and advance issues important to the ALS community; and convening the largest gathering of people with ALS every year in Washington, D.C. to raise awareness of the disease and support government programs designed to help find a treatment and cure for ALS.

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While Bill Gates might have had the most creative response to the challenge, this guy definitely had the most badass way of doing it, with a helicopter!