Thailand was not spared the Ice Bucket Challenge, also referred to as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, that gripped the four corners of the Earth with utter surprise this year. Thais were quick to join in the fray and the public enjoyed watching the Who's Who in the country take up the challenge.
The activity involved dumping a bucket of ice water on someone's head to promote awareness of the disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and encourage donations to research. It went viral on social media.
In the US, people donated to the ALS Association, and in the UK, the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Others have opted to donate their money from the Ice Bucket Challenge to other charities and organisations.
It is believed the challenge was started by Chris Kennedy, a golfer in Sarasota, Florida, who was nominated by a friend to compete in the Ice Bucket Challenge, which at the time had nothing to do with ALS. The campaign was not tied to any specific charity back then and participants were free to select a charity of their choice for donations. Kennedy's friend had selected a charity that supported a young child with cancer. Kennedy, passing the challenge along, then selected ALS because a relative was suffering from the disease.
Kennedy nominated his wife's cousin Jeanette, whose husband Anthony is the one suffering from ALS. Kennedy posted that particular video on social media in July — what appears to be the first time in which the Ice Bucket Challenge and ALS were linked.
As a disease, ALS is actually quite rare. And when the Ice Bucket Challenge became a social media craze, experts from the Prasat Neurological Institute under the Ministry of Public Health's Department of Medical Services gave a word of warning that soaking oneself with ice water is likely to cause pneumonia, especially among those with chronic diseases like asthma, high blood pressure or heart-related symptoms.