# I wonder, is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge the BIGGEST viral thing to date? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 24, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395 "2014-08-24T18:50:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/1 "2014-08-24T18:50:06Z")
[This is just a short list of people who have done it.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ice_Bucket_Challenge_participants) it’s not counting all of the hundreds of local celebs (DJs, bands, CEOs, groups) who have done it nor all the average joe/janes who have done it. I know we’ve had bigger fads and viral things before, but this really seems like the biggest thing thousands of people have done in such a short time. ---
**Author:** ![turner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@turner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turner)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/2 "2014-08-24T19:21:51Z")
My vote would go to ebola ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/3 "2014-08-24T23:40:33Z")
Am I the only one who has never watched one of those videos? On pop-culture matters, sometimes I am so out of the loop. Actually, I rarely watch “viral” videos in general. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/4 "2014-08-25T00:33:20Z")
I have to admit, I’m fascinated by this meme, even though I’ve seen very few of the videos. I’d love to see a gigantic graph of who’s challenged who, whether people acknowledge those who challenged them in their video, who’s issued challenges to people who already have their video out, and so on. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/5 "2014-08-25T00:39:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **turner** : > > My vote would go to ebola Nah, herpes is _much_ bigger. And ebola isn’t actually viral, either; it’s bacterial. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/6 "2014-08-25T00:58:47Z")
You should check out[this video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIQToVqDMb8) It’s the first I’ve heard of it, but apparently, it’s quite popular. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/7 "2014-08-25T01:03:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nah, herpes is _much_ bigger. > > And ebola isn’t actually viral, either; it’s bacterial. In that case HPV is probably more prevalent. And Ebola is absolutely a virus, what makes you think otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/8 "2014-08-25T01:48:14Z")
All I know is that I’ve had enough of the wimpy ALS ice bucket challenges. I’m going to use dry ice. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/9 "2014-08-25T02:03:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nah, herpes is _much_ bigger. > > And ebola isn’t actually viral, either; it’s bacterial. “Ebola virus”. That’s how I have always heard it described. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/10 "2014-08-25T02:12:13Z")
One interesting thing about this ice bucket thing is that it’s meta-viral. That is, you have the ‘meme’ of the challenge, which spreads like a virus through the human social networks, and each infected person posts a video. Then, each video can spread virally through the net. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/11 "2014-08-25T03:06:11Z")
That stupid-ass dancing baby in about 1998 or so seemed to be EVERYWHERE… to the point where it was on TV, and everyone spammed it around on emails for what seemed like a full year. The ice bucket challenge has a way to go before it hits that level of penetration and persistence, considering that it’s a LOT easier now with social media, and what-not. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/12 "2014-08-25T03:28:36Z")
I dunno. Hands Across America went pretty viral without the help of the internet. There was advertising, but I’d heard of it long before I saw the first commercial. Then, there was The Blair Witch Project, the original Viral Advertising Project. But, I’m still going to vote for Woodstock as the biggest viral thing to date. There was just a tiny local advertising campaign, and the plan was for about 50,000 people, but it ended up attracting something like 500,000, from the other side of the country. All without the help of the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/13 "2014-08-25T21:58:17Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > I have to admit, I’m fascinated by this meme, even though I’ve seen very few of the videos. I’d love to see a gigantic graph of who’s challenged who, whether people acknowledge those who challenged them in their video, who’s issued challenges to people who already have their video out, and so on. 😉 [There’s this](http://ibc.qex.cz/), but it’s not up to date by far. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/14 "2014-08-26T06:07:04Z")
Don’t have water? Then pour [rubble](http://www.thestar.com/news/2014/08/25/why_are_palestinians_pouring_rubble_on_their_heads_.html) over your head. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/15 "2014-08-26T07:59:06Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > All I know is that I’ve had enough of the wimpy ALS ice bucket challenges. I’m going to use dry ice. I’m going to use Iceberg lettuce. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/16 "2014-08-26T08:13:44Z")
How about that Macarena dance thing from a few years ago? I think I’m the only person on earth who never did it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/17 "2014-08-26T08:26:10Z")
Psy - Gangnam Style is probably high on the list ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/18 "2014-08-26T11:52:44Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > How about that Macarena dance thing from a few years ago? > I think I’m the only person on earth who never did it. “A few years ago”? Try two decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/19 "2014-08-26T12:46:52Z")
All your buckets are belong to us. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395/20 "2014-09-20T20:00:47Z")
it took a while Kentucky firefighter dies after ice bucket challenge accident > **[Kentucky firefighter dies after ice bucket challenge accident](https://news.yahoo.com/kentucky-firefighter-dies-ice-bucket-challenge-accident-190338314.html)** > > By Steve Bittenbender LOUISVILLE KY. (Reuters) - A Kentucky firefighter who was severely injured a month ago while helping college students take part in an "ice-bucket" fundraiser died on Saturday from his injuries, authorities said. Captain Tony... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-is-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-the-biggest-viral-thing-to-date/696395.md?page=2)