Q: Where, how and from whom did the idea of the Ice Bucket Challenge originate?
—Lance DeLoach, Thomaston
A: Pro athletes were challenging each other to douse themselves with ice water for fun or charity earlier this year, but Chris Kennedy has been credited with focusing the challenge on benefitting ALS research. Kennedy, a pro golfer in Florida, doused himself on July 15. He challenged his cousin, Jeanette Senerchia, whose husband, Anthony, has ALS, a neurodegenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
She completed the challenge the next day and started a craze in her town of Pelham, N.Y. “Our whole town got involved as well as my husband’s older siblings and their friends on Facebook, so it just kind of blew up and it was nonstop,” Senerchia told the Wall Street Journal. Pat Quinn, who also has ALS, saw Senerchia’s challenge on Facebook and did the same to his friends and family, according to the article.
Another man with ALS, Pete Frates, saw Quinn’s challenge and he issued one to his friends. Frates is a former Boston College baseball player, so his acquaintances soon carried the challenge into professional baseball. The Ice Bucket Challenge helped raise $88.5 million for the ALS Association from July 29 to Aug. 26, compared with $2.6 million for the same time period in 2013.
Q: Does Robert Osborne, the host of Turner Classic Movies, live in Atlanta?
—Jean Higgins, Atlanta
A: Osborne has lived in New York City since 1987 and travels to Atlanta to record his segments for TCM, according to his bio at RobertOsborne.com. He's originally from Colfax, Wash., and graduated from the University of Washington.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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