What are some of the Weirdest Things People Spend Their Money On?

Ideas

The spending habits of the rich and famous

While we wait for Richard Branson to sort out the anomalies with his space tourism program, Virgin Galactic, let’s take a look at what other millionaires are spending their money on.

Virgin Galactic Tickets

Virgin Galactic.png
Virgin Galactic Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

$250,000+ a pop is chump change for the 650 celebrities and billionaires like Brangelina, DiCaprio, Bieber and Katy Perry who have purchased tickets on Richard Branson’s space shuttle. Or, what some are referring to as the most expensive roller coaster rider, ever. T’s like space mountain for rich people, but instead of just going to Disney Land like the rest of us poor suckers, they are actually going into space. Surprisingly, the recent tragedy with the SpaceshipTwo hasn’t resulted in anybody returning their ticket. But the Virgin Galactic commercial spaceship is just one of the many crazy things that billionaires and celebrities spend their money.

Personal Killer Whale Submarine

Rich People Toys Killer Whale Submarine

Is that $100,000 just burning a hole in your pocket? Well, don’t fret, poor little rich person, because you can spend it on your very own Killer Whale Submarine. It looks and moves just like a real killer whale would. With all the hullabaloo about keeping real orcas for public entertainment, like SeaWorld, you can put on your own guilt-free orca show for your friends and family.

Magnetic Floating Bed

Rich People Toys Magnetic Floating Bed
Designed by Janjaap Ruijssenaars, www.universearchitecture.com

Bed frames are for poor people, apparently! If you’ve got $1.6 million, why sleep like the rest of us commoners when you can float in the air on a magnetically charged levitating bed? It will certainly make cleaning under the bed a lot easier; just don’t have any metal jewelry on you when you are vacuuming under this space mattress.

22-Karat Gold Toilet Paper

Picture courtesy of The Toilet Paperman http://www.toiletpaper.com.au/
Picture courtesy of The Toilet Paper Man
http://www.toiletpaper.com.au/

There’s a guy in Australia who is the self-proclaimed “toilet paper man”! It’s true. If you have absolutely nothing better to do with your millions, then why not get a 22-karat gold roll of toilet paper. Only one roll was made, and despite the totally reasonable price of $1.3 million, no one has swooped it up yet. Do you want to be the first to wipe your ass with gold?

My Impressions Impressions

It amazes me what rich people throw their money away on. I’m not sure what I would do if I had a billion dollars. Probably something boring, like travel the world. I’d let my husband follow the ASP surfers around the world like they were the Grateful Dead, and I’d probably follow him because they do seem to go to some incredibly beautiful places. There really aren’t a lot of material things that I am just dying to spend a million dollars on. I also hear that a lot of money also comes with a lot of guilt, and not to make myself out to be Mother Theresa, but I would certainly have to spend some of that money helping people, just so I wouldn’t feel guilty about buying that private island…Okay, I’d buy an island, and build a diamond-encrusted house, just because I could….and help people. Probably children. What would you do if you had a billion dollars?

Great ideas, great stuff

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Living in the Moment…Or At Least Trying To!

Living the moment

Stress Management

We are all way too stressed out and we need to do something about it now before it takes over your life. Stress can have disabling affects and it does not care who you are, where you come from, how much money you make or how “great” your life may seem to be on the outside. Stress, like most diseases, does not discriminate.

I was just Skyping with a friend and catching up after way too long. As easy as it is to keep in contact with people across the globe from you, for some reason time seems to fly by and I never talk to my far away friends as often as I would like. It turns out that over the last few months, her husband had been feeling so stressed out at work, that he was not at home on disability leave for stress. Stress!! I knew that stress had come up in the news and in my daily life more and more over the past few years, but I never imagined that my friends husband, who loved his job as a graphic designer, who had just bought his dream home, who loved his life and his work and his friends and coworkers, could end up at home unable to work, due to stress. And this guy lives in Denmark, a country notorious So if this can happen to someone who lives in the happiest country on earth, it really can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

live in the moment
Live in the moment. Take 20 minutes just for you.

Put yourself first

It’s time to be a little more selfish, time to say no when you are being pulled in a million directions, time to spend a little more time doing things you love, time to step away from it all and just live in the moment, if only for 20 minutes. You will be glad you did and so will the people around you, because if you aren’t taking care of yourself, then how can you take care of others.

US Stress Statistics 2014

70% – percentage of people polled who regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress

73% – percentage of people polled who regularly experience psychological symptoms caused by stress

33% – feel they are living with extreme stress

48% – feel their stress has increased over the past 5 years

76% – said money was the leading cause of their stress

48% – said they would lie awake at night due to stress

(Source: Statistic Brain)

Get your daily sun

Sun prevents stress
The greatest weapon against stress: sunshine. All you have to do is go outside, the sun will take care of the rest.

The sun is the most powerful weapon we have against stress and preventing the onset of stress. And it’s free! Plants need it to survive, and so do we. The reason you feel great after some time outside in the sun is not just a coincidence. The sun warming your skin will help you relax, all the while the rays are stimulating your body’s natural serotonin levels leaving you feeling happy and refreshed. It also causes your sleep hormone levels to decrease. It’s the simplest solution, it’s the cheapest solution, and it’s right outside your door.

When you’re outside, walking to the store, work or to a neighbor’s house, take time to notice the trees, leaves, plants, animals along the way. I know it sounds really cliché, but life is short, if you don’t appreciate it today you may not get a chance tomorrow.

So, to sum up: get your daily sunshine and try to live in the moment, if only for 20 minutes a day. And cuddle your pets a little extra today.

 Good luck! impressions agency

Thankful for so much this Thanksgiving

Everyone that’s trying to sell us something uses “thanks” in their add or their promos. We have so much to buy and so many lines to conquer, that we may be forgetting the reason for the Holiday… GIVE THANKS!
Before we join shopping craziness…

As a content writer, you may imagine how many newsletters arrive into my inbox, and how many hours I spend online, surfing for worthy content that can be shared, or thoughts that may inspire. And sometimes inspiration comes from very unexpected places. Today it came from Goop, Gwynette Paltrow’s blog… Yes, deep. The blogger shared this quote by Ram Dass:

“If you think you are enlightened;
go home for Thanksgiving.”

Truly! That’s why we get the whole long weekend. Not to go crazy shopping. But to have time to sit on the couch for hours, turn off your cell (because everyone else you work for and with should be doing the same), and hang out with the ones closest to you.  It doesn’t take a spiritual guru to tell you, when those people you love are gone, the empty space they leave on the couch can never be filled by anyone else. So travel as far as you have to and go spend some time with your people. Rest, think of what you’re thankful for and don’t forget the ones who no longer have a warm place to go for a hot, yummy plate of turkey and goodies.

Life at the beach

WE ARE THANKFUL

Impressions is a great place  to work. If you can call the virtual office a place. We’re not all together in the same building, as our team is truly mobile, and international; American, Danish, Costa Rican, you name it. But one thing we have in common, we take the time to count our blessings. And just to show you we did the work, here are some of the things we’re thankful for

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LANCELance's tahnkfulness

I am thankful first and foremost for the Lord and all the blessings he has given me.
I am thankful for my close family friends Chris & Annie for all the support and generosity they have given me.
I am thankful that I am in good health and I have great family & friends surrounding me.
I am also thankful for Impressions group and the Impressions group team. It has been a great year of learning & working. I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for our team.

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Sage thankful featureCHARISA

Having a new daughter. She brings me so much joy! 
I’m thankful that I get to learn how to be a mom. 
I’m thankful for my amazing husband who is so supportive. 
I’m thankful that I have an awesome team of people to work with. Montserrat and Lance are so loyal and supportive and our whole content team does a rockin’ job! 
I’m thankful for our clients from so many different industries. It’s fun to learn from each of them and to help them win online.

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richardsons' thankfulness

TRAVIS

A baby
Great Family
Great Friends
Great Company
Great Team to work with


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GRY

esterillos oesteI am thankful for my parents, who taught not to be afraid of new experiences, new people and new cultures. Without that, I never would have ended up traveling the world and living in Paradise. They also taught me to not take myself too seriously and to not be afraid to make mistakes, and living in a country where I am only just beginning to learn the language, it is often necessary to laugh at myself. A good example is the many times I have told the lady at the bank that I need to “park my electric bill” instead of pay.  Ooops. And thank you for your patience, bank lady! A big thanks to Skype, which allows me to stay in constant contact with friends and family who are spread all over the world. How else would my brother and I continue to “hang out” and watch cheesy reality competition shows with almost 6000 miles between us?! Or still have girls night with my BFF’s in California while I am in Costa Rica?! And finally, i am thankful for my husband, who is without a doubt, the greatest man in the world.

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  MONTSERRAT

I am thankful too. For peace after the storm. A family I can talk to about anything (even though it wasn’t always that way, makes me even more thankful). For having found the love of my life, marrying him and enjoying life together. For our only son, Mr. Jones. For a resting place in a tropical ski lodge at the beach. For work from home and the privilege of loving what I do and doing what I love. For salvation, none of the above would make sense without God’s Plan for my life.

And you?

What are you thankful for? STOP! Yes you, take time to think. Being thankful is not just about Thanksgiving, knowing what matters most should define the course of your life. What are you living for?

thankful mountain top
Wherever you are. THINK: What are you thankful for?

There’s a New Gigantasaurus in Town! Oh, and there’s Ebola…

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Ebola at airports screening
Chicago Tribune Graphics

I’m not going to write about Ebola!

Before I start not writing about Ebola; there are cases of Ebola IN TEXAS. What? How is there an Ebola outbreak in Dallas?? Someone needs to start talking. NOW! Luckily I live my life by Thelma and Louise’s “whatever you do, find some way we don’t gotta go through Texas” motto, but I can’t control where my airline decides to layover. Texas is pretty much unavoidable when you fly from Central America to North America or Europe. Anyway, I’m going to try really hard not to mention or think about Ebola* for the rest of this blog…

“Happy non-Ebola news:
Smiley 50th AnniversaryThis month is the 50th anniversary of the iconic Smiley! The creator, local Massachusetts artist Harvey Ball got $240 for creating the Smiley for an internal boost to morale at an insurance company. He never copyrighted the image, neither did the company he made it for, making it the most iconic non-commercial free image in the world”

New giant dinosaur discovered in Argentina

Dreadnoughtus
Dreadnoughtus schrani was discovered in 2005 in the Santa Cruz province of Argentina.
Source: Wikipedia Illustration by Jennifer Hall

 

Anyway, let me start over. I’m not going to write about Ebola because there’s a new gigantasaurus in town! It was discovered in Argentina and it is the largest terrestrial animal ever found weighing in at 65 ton! For those of you keeping score, that’s just over 8 times the size of a T-Rex. It has been named Dreadnaughtus, which would imply that this is not an animal to fear, but though it may be a plant eater, it is still bigger than a Boeing 737 and comes equipped with a weaponized tail. Perhaps a more appropriate name would have been “Dread-me-slightly-saurus”.

Dreadnaughtus
Dreadnaughtus Size Comparison Chart
Source: Wikipedia

“Fun Ebola fact: while most consider the Ebola threat to Latin America low, Argentina – and the rest of south and central America – have already begun to prepare for a potential Ebola outbreak.”

As awesome as I think it is that we are still discovering new dinosaurs in 2014, I can’t help but wonder is this news is only coming out now as a distraction from the fact that Ebola has broken out in Texas and Washington!! The Dreadnaughtus was discovered back in 2005. Why are we only hearing about it now? “Don’t look over here where there’s Ebola, look over here at this shiny new dinosaur.” I’m on to you, US government!

So, now that I know I don’t need to be afraid of the newly discovered dinosaur, do I need to be afraid of contracting the Ebola virus? Let’s go down the CDC Ebola preventative check list, shall we?

  1. Practice careful hygiene. For example, wash your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and avoid contact with blood and body fluids. (check!)
  2. Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids (way ahead of you. Also: gross!)
  3. Avoid funeral or burial rituals that require handling the body of someone who has died from Ebola (I think I can handle that. So far so good)
  4. Avoid contact with bats and nonhuman primates or blood, fluids, and raw meat prepared from these animals. (D’oh! So close to a perfect score. I live in a country where bats are frequent and there is a monkey in my yard right now. And it is adorable. Even though I am reading from the Center for Disease Control’s own website telling me not to touch that monkey, the only reason I am not touching that cute little nonhuman primate, is because he won’t let me!)

I give myself a 3 ½ out of 4 on the Ebola prevention check list. And in terms of not making this blog about my sense of impending doom by Ebola, I give myself an A for effort.

*The Ebola virus is “highly infectious but not very transmissible”, and experts are pretty sure we won’t be facing an epidemic any time soon. Ebola is much less infectious that the measles or the flu. It is called the “caregivers disease” because you have to have been in direct contact with an infected person (Source: Washington Post).

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For less gloomy content to help your company boost its online presence, talk to the team at Impressions Group. We’ll help you make all the right impressions in all the right places. Stay healthy. And wash your hands.

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Is Social Media Safe For Kids?

For Kids Only

KUDDLE: a new App, offers kid-friendly Social Media

There’s a new social media app in town, and this one is geared toward young children in the hopes of teaching kids how to act on social media and teaching them about the downfalls of being online and sharing pictures and personal details with friends. It’s called Kuddle and was created in Norway to help kids promote “happy sharing” and develop good “netiquette.”

What is Kuddle?

Kuddle for KidsThe app is like Instagram for children, allowing them to take pictures, draw on them, add a caption and then share it with friends all while every aspect is controlled by a parent. In order to sign up you have to use a parent’s email account and before any picture can be posted or shared the parent must approve the photo first. The parent also controls who can view the child’s photos and who can send photos to your chid.

Basically, there is parental control and involvement in every step of this app.

Bully prevention

Besides a lot of parental supervision, this app has a few features set in place to avoid bullying and teasing on Kuddle. There is no comment section, so when you send a photo to a friend, there is no way for them to say something back, not even if it is something nice. Your friends can “like” the photo you send, but those likes are only visible to the account holder and not to the public. This is to avoid a popularity contest between friends. Kuddle also only allows the users to use their real name which is supposed to teach your kids to be responsible for the content they put up and not hide behind an assumed identity to tease and ridicule others online.Stop Online Bullying

Social Media Preparedness

I think that Kuddle’s intentions are great and their hearts are in the right place; I just don’t think that this app is going to prepare them at all for the pandemonium that is social media. I think that making kids share photo’s using their real name and thereby being accountable for the things they put online is brilliant, but taking away the comment section is a mistake. It is in the comment section that you can teach your kids how to be a good social media friend and a positive force in the online community. It is in the comments that you teach them how to treat people online, just like you would teach them to be good, kinds and respectful people in person. It is in the comments that you teach them how easy it is to say something mean when you are not looking someone in the eye, and how words can be misinterpreted online because you can’t hear the person’s inflections or see their expression when they are passing on a comment.

Cyber Bullying

Social media has given those who bully a platform to continue to bully even when not directly in front of the targeted person, and kids with cell phones are getting younger and younger, exposing them to cyber bullies at a very young age. Social media has not created more bullies but rather given those who already bully a new platform to act out their aggression by targeting their peers, and the online world has made it possible to harass, embarrass, ridicule and torment their victims 24/7. Apps like Kuddle are a step in the right direction; it just needs a little tweaking to truly teach kids about the crazy world of social media. And whether it’s with Kuddle or other methods, knowing what your child is up to online as well as socially after school is the best thing a parent can do to ensure that their child is both practicing good “netiquette” and isn’t becoming a victim to bullying, on or off the grid.

Instagram for Kids
Kuddle App

Bullying statistics

(source: dosomething.org)

1. Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. 1 in 4 has had it happen more than once

2. 70% of students report seeing frequent bullying online

3. Over 80% of teens use a cell phone regularly, making it the most common medium for cyberbullying

4. 68% of teens agree that cyberbullying is a serious problem

5. 81% of young people think bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person

Happy Sharing

My ImpressionsMy Impressions

Kids are way smarter than you are when it comes to social media and they will find a way to get online and chat with their friends without parental supervision, and unfortunately so will the bullies. Do we need to work hard to combat bad social etiquette and cyber-bullying? Absolutely! But I think the best thing we can do to ensure that our kids are part of the solution and not the problem, is to be involved in their lives. Know who their friends are, listen to their troubles and woes, be active in their school and after-school activities. Teach your kids respect and compassion. You know, be a good parent!

Just like we need to talk to our kids about privacy and good netiquette, I think it is equally important that parents are up to date and educated on what the latest social media trends are. Because the reason bullies are getting away with their awful cyber-behavior is that parents are way behind on cyber trends and how kids communicate. Kids aren’t going to teach you, or tell you what goes on online because you are old and embarrassing, so you need to do some homework on our own. Do kids need to be cyber-educated? Yes. And so do the parents.

Impressions of a Reality TV Junkie

I’ll admit it; I’m a reality TV junkie. I know I’m not supposed to admit it, but it’s true. I’d like to say that I only watch “intelligent” reality TV like The Amazing Race and Top Chef, where it’s not about backstabbing and acting like idiots, but about celebrating and showing actual skill and expertise in a given area – cooking, fashion, physical endurance, etc. – but the truth is, I love all reality TV. From Jersey Shore to The Real Housewives to Project Runway to Survivor and the ever tragic Bachelor franchise. I love them all equally. Even the Kardashians, you ask? Yes, even the Kardashians. So it is both with sadness and excitement that we are nearing the finale of yet another crazy season of Big Brother, season 16.

Big Brother 2014 cast
The cast of Big Brother 16

My Impressions of Big Brother Season 16

This season has pretty much combines two of my favorite TV genres: crime TV dramas mixed with back stabbing reality. This season there’s an undercover narcotics officer in the house, Derrick, and he’s got everyone wrapped around his manipulative little hands. It. Is. Awesome!!!

Derrick BB16 winner
Derrick causally manipulating the house guests while wearing his “move along, nothing to see here” doting hipster dad glasses.

Derrick is the king of misdirection. He casually told people that he was a parks and rec coordinator when asked about his job in the beginning of the season and no one questioned it. The houseguests questioned every other person’s backstory in the house, but Derrick seemed to be trusted by all right from the get go. If there was any suspicions raised, Derrick would simply redirect peoples focus to the fact that he is just a family man just trying to win money to provide a better life for his wife and young daughter. I mean, he literally takes a page from Clark Kent and puts on a pair of hipster glasses as part of his disguise. As soon as he does, the whole house is like “I trust you, and believe everything you say, Cool Dad. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it”. So while everyone has written Derrick off as the harmless lovable trustworthy hipster/park ranger dad from Rhode Island, he is sitting back quietly watching everyone else run in circles trying to keep up with their own lies, alliances and hidden agendas.

Derrick may keep a relatively low profile inside the house, but in the diary room he spells out every tactic for America and walks us through, step by step, how he is about to convince this person or that person that a certain houseguest needs to be eliminated, all the while keeping “blood off his own hands”. He manipulates with kindness, he deflects blame and suspicion from himself and onto others and most importantly he has everyone thinking he is on their side, working with them as a team.

Big Brother Tv show

Big Brother 16 Finale

So that was the backstory of BB16, and now to the live finale. If Derrick doesn’t win then I’m going to throw something at the TV. This is going to be the longest hour of my life. It feels like Christmas morning, and I’m about to find out if I’ve been naughty or nice. Before the winner is announced, Derrick’s little secret is revealed and the reactions from the house guests are priceless. Some looked utterly shocked with their mouthes agape, others squeeled and some nodded along as if they had known it all along. To be fair, some had speculated briefly, but again, Derrick managed to divert their attention, keeping himself safe in the house. In the end it all paid off and no one could deny the superiour game that Derrick managed to play flawlessly for the entire summer. And the votes are in,  and the winner is: Derrick!!! Congratulation, Derrick, and thank you to all the house guests for letting me be a part of your summer. It’s been a blast as always!

As one reality door closes, another opens. Hello, Amazing Race, good to have you back!

Escaped the boxAnd now, back to my reality: helping businesses make lasting impressions through superior, quality content that is just the right mix of useful information, humor, current trends and social movements. The world is moving fast, especially online. Don’t get left behind. Talk to someone on the Impressions team and we’ll work with you to make sure your business is making the right impressions in all the right places.

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How to protect your nude selfies

Protecting Your Personal Information Online

The Selfie Generation
The Selfie Generation

We all have a selfies or two in various states of undress. Come on, admit it. Actually, don’t admit it, that’s the whole point. You should be able to take any type of photo you want with your own phone, your own camera, in the privacy of your home. But with the hacking of many high profile celebrity nudie shots now available for the world to see, everyone is now scrambling to either blame the victims or delete their iCloud accounts. Both of these reactions are ridiculous. Blaming the women for taking the pictures in the first place is just plain offensive, and deleting all your backed up photos or shutting down you cloud accounts is an overreaction.

Protecting Your Personal Information Online

All we need to learn from this scandal is that with new technology that makes our own lives easier, come new ways for hackers and trouble makers to access your personal information and make your life a living hell. For celebrities that mean publishing their private nude photos because that is where the money is. For the rest of us, they probably don’t really care about your nude selfies, but they do care about your bank account. Either way, hacking is all about either getting paid or getting recognition.

Creating an online copywriting portfolio
Online profile

Getting off the grid

Shutting down all your backup and iCloud (or whatever non-iPhone users have) is crazy talk. I know it seems like everyone is watching your every move and that nothing is sacred anymore, or private, and you just want to shut everything down, but you really don’t need to do that. You just have to be smart about what you store online, how you store it, and how you secure it. That means having a hard to crack, random password using all the tricks you can think of. We all know this, we just don’t all do it because it is much easier to remember “Snugglebear,” your favorite childhood toy than it is to remember 5nUgg1b3ar. It is also really annoying and time-consuming to go to all your accounts online and change all your passwords. Oh, that reminds me; don’t have one password for all your online accounts. Yes, it is easy for you to remember, but that also makes it really easy for the hacker once they’ve gained access to just one of your accounts.

Get a password manager

Complexity is your friend when it comes to choosing passwords. With the invention of the cell phone, we can barely remember our best friends phone number anymore, so remembering 6 or 7 new complex passwords is probably out of the question. Luckily there are several password management tools that you can look for online to help you get good secure passwords for all your accounts and they will also help you remember them. It is an incredibly simple and reliable solution to protect all of your private information, not to mention all you sexy selfies. You will also be happy to know that even though there are some questionable holes in the iCloud security, they are working to fix that, but for now, take the security of your personal data into your own hands, don’t rely on others to protect you. In the tech world, where it seems like we’re all coming together as one big happy unity concert, it is really just one big Hunger Game, and it is up to you to ensure your own survival.

P.S. One more thing, if you don’t want to get hacked, one good rule of thumb is to never open emails you don’t trust or click on suspicious links like “nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence” because that is how they get you. When you are wondering if you should click on a link or not, ask yourself the following question: If someone knocked on your door and said (for example) “Hi, I have nude photos of several high profile celebrities, can I come in and show them to you?” Would you slam the door in their face or let them in? You’d slam the door, right? Right?! Anything else would be reckless and irresponsible. So if you wouldn’t let these people into your home, don’t let them in when they come knocking on your inbox.

  Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

The #ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

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Today, August 25th, Ice Bucket Donations Reached $79.7 Million

Up until now ASL has been like the shy, nerdy kid in the High School largely overshadowed by the more popular diseases: the cancers, heart disease and AIDS. Since ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease affects only a relatively small amount of people compared to the big “C” in all its horrible variations and mutations, it is no wonder that ALS has been overlooked in the fight for funding, awareness and donations.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that we should stop giving money to research and treatment for cancer, but if we are continuing with the teen rom com analogy it was about time for the little guy to take the spotlight. And then came the Ice Bucket Challenge that has caught on like wildfire and clogged your news and social media feeds the past three or four weeks. ALS took off its glasses, shook out it’s hair and finally got a date for the prom. And then instead of getting drunk and losing its virginity at the prom, ALS did what every parent wishes their kid would do instead; threw a bucket of ice cold water in everyone’s face.

Who Started the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

Former Presidents, pretty much every celebrities and one Muppet has taken the challenge, and I bet you are no more than one or two degrees from someone who has taken it as well. The Ice Bucket Challenge is not a new phenomenon, it has made cameos here and there hoping to raise money for different worthy causes, but this time it really took off. And this time it was ALS at the helm. All it took was one guy, Pete Frates, a former Boston College baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS in 2011. It was his friends and celebrities (including NFL quarterback Tom Brady) who got everyone else involved and well, you’ve seen the rest.

Until a month ago, shockingly few knew about Lou Gehrig’s disease, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and how it affects at least 30,000 Americans today. It is a horrible disease that affects the nervous system and leads to total paralysis and life expectancy once diagnosed is typically two to five years. No one knows the cause of this disease and there is no cure, let alone treatment to help prevent, reverse or slow down the disease. The $80 million and counting at the time of this blog is a big win for historically underfunded ALS and a big win for those of us who enjoy watching our favorite celebrities get doused with a bucket of ice cold water.

Donate to ALS research

Don’t just sit there watching, GIVE!!!

The challenges is still going strong, but before you get sucked into watching your celebrity crushes take part in a universal wet t-shirt contest, remember that this is all about raising money for a good cause and if you enjoy watching all of these videos then you can say thank you with a well-deserved donation to ALS. As successful as this campaign has been for ALS, the videos circulating on the web have been viewed hundreds of million times, so if you look at it in terms of viewing numbers the $50 million + is a drop in the bucket compared to what could be raised if everyone who enjoyed watching people participate would just donate as well. So, grab your wallet and donate. Every dollar counts.

Anthony Carbajal ALS
Anthony Carbajal

If you could choose just one video to watch to learn about ALS, this is our pick, watch it on our feature above or click here: Anthony Carvajal, 26. This is the bravest, most challenging, moving video we found on ALS awareness, and yes, it’s includes ice… Watch it all… You can also donate to Anthony and his family directly.

ALS in a Nutshell

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
(Source: The ALS Association). Also visit the ALS Therapy Development Institute for more info and ways to help. impressions agency