Tag Archives: ALS

Business, Health & Medicine, Technology, The Media

WALMART, TARGET, COSTCO RUN OUT OF PLASTIC BUCKETS

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imageBentonville, Arkansas (The Adobo Chronicles) – The country’s top giant retailers — Walmart, Costco and Target — have all reported that they have fully run out of plastic buckets in their stores and outlets. An independent investigation by The Adobo Chronicles has confirmed the disappearance of the 3, 4 and 5 gallon containers from the retailers’ store shelves across the country.

A spokesperson for the Arkansas-based Walmart said that their inventory of buckets began diminishing two weeks ago when the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge started to trend on social media. “Now, our supply is down to zero,” he said.

Costco, on the other hand, appealed to its members to stop calling customer service inquiring about the availability of plastic buckets. “There is absolutely nothing to go around and no delivery expected from our suppliers for the next six months,” it said in a statement from its corporate office in Seattle, Washington.

Estimates place the number of Ice Bucket Challenge videos posted on the Internet at 1.2 Million. “That’s 1.2 Million buckets purchased in just the last two weeks,” a spokesperson for Target said.

That, of course, is assuming each video involves just one individual.

Hardware stores are worried that they may also run out of tin buckets very soon.

Economy, Law Enforcement, Local News, Politics, Science and Environment

CALIFORNIA’S CHALLENGE TO THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE

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The Folsom Lake Reservoir in 2011, left, and in 2014
The Folsom Lake Reservoir in 2011, left, and in 2014

Sacramento, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – In its current state, the Folsom Lake  Reservoir, located northeast of Sacramento, best demonstrates the adverse effect of the drought in California. In just the last two and half years, the water level has gone from 97% capacity to just 17% (see photo).

The state’s severe water shortage crisis has prompted California officials to put in place an ordinance that would fine residents who waste water through daily chores like watering the lawn, washing cars or hosing down sidewalks.  Violation of the ordinance carries with it a fine of $500.

But not even the threat of penalty or the grim photos of almost-empty reservoirs throughout the state has prevented Californians from taking up the Ice Bucket Challenge, the social media phenomenon that has taken the U.S. by storm.  The challenge involves people dousing themselves with a bucket of ice, video-taping it and posting it on social media.  In turn, they challenge two other people to do the same or donate $100 to the ALS Association.  ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s  disease is a paralyzing and sometimes fatal condition involving the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It is estimated that 30,000 Americans have ALS.

In a change of heart, California officials said they would not be imposing the penalty for wasting water on those who choose to take up the Ice Bucket Challenge.  Instead, the Watershed Conservation Authority (WCA) has posed its own challenge to the Ice Bucket Challenge.

On September 1, Labor Day, WCA is challenging  One Million Californians to gather at the Folsom Lake Reservoir and simultaneously douse themselves with iced water buckets, letting the water fill into the lake. “It’s a win-win situation,” a spokesperson for WCA said, “they can accept the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge while helping to solve the state’s water shortage crisis.

Folsom Lake Reservoir has a surface area of 11,450 acres. The Adobo Chronicles did the math: An acre holds approximately 360,000 gallons of water. If One Million Californians poured a gallon of water each into the lake, that would be a total of 2.7 acres.

Unfortunately, our calculator just ran out of battery, so we are asking the help of our readers to calculate how many Californians pouring a gallon of water each into the lake would fill 11,450 acres.  Please use the comment section for your answers.

Health & Medicine, Human Interest, International, The Media

HOT WATER BUCKET CHALLENGE LAUNCHED TO RAISE MONEY FOR SELFITIS CURE

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Martha Stewart, left, and Mark Zuckerberg accept the ice bucket challenge

San Jose, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – By now, most people with Internet access are familiar with the ice bucket challenge intended to raise funds to help find a cure for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”  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 often leads to paralysis.

The challenge involves people either dousing themselves with a bucket of ice and posting a video on social media, or making a  donation to the ALS cause.  Unfortunately, many people, including celebrities like Mark Zuckerberg and Martha Stewart chose to douse themselves with ice instead of making a donation.  While the challenge campaign has gone viral, donations were not at levels the campaign organizers had hoped for. In California, Governor Jerry Brown reminded people to consider the state’s water shortage before accepting the ice bucket challenge.  “They should just donate,” he said.

Now, a similar campaign has been launched on the Internet to help raise funds to find a cure for selfitis. (Recently, the American Psychiatric Association officially declared the taking of selfie photos and posting them on the Internet a mental disorder).  Instead of a bucket of ice, the selfitis challenge involves people dousing themselves with hot water, or making a donation.  Most people are choosing to donate.

While no official numbers have been released by either the ALS or the Selfitis groups, there is great speculation that more funds have been raised by the hot water bucket challenge.

Moral of the story: pick your challenge wisely.