The Ice Bucket Challenge is something that most people are aware of by now; either because of experiencing it or seeing it being done by someone. What is not known, though, are the origins of it.
Why is the Ice Bucket Challenge taking place? Almost everyone finds it to be funny to do or to do to someone else. But does anyone know why and who they are doing it for?
The genuine starters of it were the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), an organization who investigates this neurodegenerative disorder. It happens for several causes, one of them is the muscle wasting of the brain. This provokes problems to breath and to speak. This organization is also situated in USA.
So there is the USA cause, and the original one. They wanted to promote the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money and continue investigating, solve the problem for people who can't live a regular comfortable life because of this disease. Which is a wonderful idea and a right cause to do the challenge.
They were lucky that the idea wasn't nice to some but actually fun to the entire world. What the challenge asks of each person is to make a video where they pour on themselves or someone else does it for them a bucket of ice cold water. Once the video is done, they have to post it and like that the Organization wins money.
In basic terms, the more viral the video becomes the better. This worked as a solid idea. The only problem is that because so many people loved the challenge, then other Organization and companies took advantage of that.
In the UK, people do it for another association, the Motor Neuron Disease Organization, which is another good cause and also another continent so there isn't really a big problem as the money goes to good hands.
Yet, there are people who just for the sake of continue being viral, they didn't post it for the ALS but for themselves. This caused problems and the ALS had to name The Ice Bucket challenge as "property" of ALS.
Later on, they retired this comment and said, "We filed for these trademarks in good faith as a measure to protect the Ice Bucket Challenge from misuse after consulting with the families who initiated the challenge this summer." In the same message, they informed that it was clearly something that disturbed many people, to be a "trademark" patent to any sort of Organization, and that is why they withdrew it.
They also thanked everyone for participating and helping out.
The Ice Bucket Challenge started in July and now continues. The Organization made $100 million dollars and still counting.
