Ice Bucket Challenge #1: Creativity

Isn't the Ice Bucket Challenge the coolest (No pun intended.) fund raiser you've ever heard of?  You do know it's a fund raiser, don't you?  It has raised almost $50 million for ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The "take the icy bath or write a check" was not an idea of the ALS Association.  It was, allegedly, launched by a young
ALS  sufferer named Peter Frates, who challenged athletes in the Boston area to take an ice bath to fund research on ALS and aid for ALS patients.  And then it seems the whole country joined in, from President George W. Bush to Jimmy Fallon to LeBron James.  I've been listening to a group of CD's on creativity from The Great Courses, and I think this is one of the cleverest and most creative fund raising ideas I've heard of, much more so than the typical "walk for..."   Yes, an article in Slate suggested it's simply a spin-off from those "jump-in-an-icy-lake" or "keep-your-hand-in-ice-water" challenges, but I think it's much more fun.

As for ALS research, I recently learned that Hadassah Hospital in Israel is experimenting with using stem cells in treating ALS, and one of their patients may be the first sufferer of this terrible disease to be cured.  Stand by for more info when it becomes available.

P.S. Would you choose the bucket of ice water or a check to ALS or both?  I'm afraid I'm wimpy enough to just write the check.