Unless you spent 2014 under a rock you would remember the Ice Bucket Challenge that took over social media feeds worldwide.
Everyone from George W Bush to Anna Wintour to Gwyneth Paltrow took part in the challenge which saw them pour a bucket of ice over their head before passing the challenge on in the name of (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
More than 17 million people uploaded videos to Facebook alone, and those videos were watched more than 440 million times.
At the time, many critics slammed the project, saying it was going viral for all the wrong reasons, with the message about motor neurone disease being overshadowed. Skeptics predicted it would have little impact when the hype died down.
Well, today its time for those skeptics to eat their hats because according to The BBC, it turns out that the challenge raised more than US$115 million (approximately AUD$153 million).
Thanks to those vital funds, scientists now say that have discovered the gene variant NEK1 that will help scientists understand what causes the disease to take hold.
“It’s very exciting because it shows everyone who contributed to the ice bucket challenge that their donation had an impact on the research,” Brian Frederick, executive vice-president of communications and development at the ALS Association, tells The Guardian.
“The work that Project MinE is doing is really important, and the discovery of this new gene will help us better understand ALS.”
Take a look back at some of the best celebrity ones:
Chris Pratt:
Oprah:
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor:
Amy Schumer:
Selena Gomez:
Gigi Hadid: