Ice Bucket Challenge

The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on someone's head to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, known mostly in the US as Lou Gehrig's Disease) and encourage donations to research. It went viral on social media during July–August 2014. In the US, many people participate for the ALS Association, and in the UK, many people participate for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, although some individuals have opted to donate their money from the Ice Bucket Challenge to other organizations.

The challenge encourages nominated participants to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their heads and then nominating others to do the same. A common stipulation is that nominated participants have 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation.

On 1 August 2015, the ALS Association re-introduced the Ice Bucket Challenge for 2015 to raise further funds with the intention of establishing it as an annual occurrence.

Anne Howard Bailey

Anne Howard Bailey (July 26, 1924 – November 23, 2006) was an American writer known particularly for her work as a screenwriter and opera librettist.

Life and career

Born and raised in Memphis, Bailey attended Rhodes College where she graduated in 1945 with a bachelor's degree in creative writing. After college she moved to New York City where she began writing for theatre and television. She was a regular contributor to the Armstrong Circle Theatre and Appointment with Adventure during the 1950s and was one of the major writers for National Velvet during the 1960s. Her most successful work as a screenwriter was working as a Head Writer on several different soap operas during the 1980s, including ABC Daytime's General Hospital (1983–1986) and NBC Daytime's Days of Our Lives (1989–1990). She also created the short-lived 1970s soap opera How to Survive a Marriage. After being fired from Days of Our Lives in 1990, Al Rabin was quoted as saying:

For General Hospital Bailey notably created such characters as Frisco Jones, Dr. Tony Jones, and Felicia Jones. She also was the Head Writer for NBC's Santa Barbara between 1987-1989 for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in her final year with the program. Bailey also wrote for primetime television including work for Bonanza, Moment of Truth, Beacon Hill, and 87th Precinct. She also worked as a story editor for The Adams Chronicles.

Challenge

Challenge may refer to:

Places

Geography

Structures

Books and Publications

Film and TV

Film

Television

Bucket

A bucket or pail is typically a watertight, vertical cylinder or truncated cone, with an open top and a flat bottom, attached to a semicircular carrying handle called the bail. A common volume is 10 liters (10 dm³).

History

Building materials and solvents have been packaged in large metal pails, but in recent decades plastic buckets have been greatly favored. Plastic buckets have more uses due to the popularity of plastic for food products and the tendency of metal pails to rust.

Types and uses

There are many types of buckets;

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a specific disorder that involves the death of neurons. In a number of countries the term motor neurone disease (MND) is commonly used, while others use that term for a group of five conditions of which ALS is the most common. ALS is characterized by stiff muscles, muscle twitching, and gradually worsening weakness due to muscles decreasing in size. This results in difficulty speaking, swallowing, and eventually breathing.

The cause is not known in 90% to 95% of cases. About 5–10% of cases are inherited from a person's parents. About half of these genetic cases are due to one of two specific genes. It results in the death of the neurons that control voluntary muscles. The diagnosis is based on a person's signs and symptoms with testing done to rule out other potential causes.

There is no known cure for ALS. A medication called riluzole may extend life expectancy by about two to three months.Non-invasive ventilation may result in both improved quality and length of life. The disease usually starts around the age of 60 and in inherited cases around the age of 50. The average survival from onset to death is three to four years. About 10% survive longer than 10 years. Most die from respiratory failure. In much of the world, rates of ALS are unknown. In Europe and the United States, the disease affects about 2 people per 100,000 per year.