Our weekly round-up of outlandish and interesting information collected from the corners of the charity sector.
The next bucket challenge
Okay, so the ice bucket challenge obviously isn’t going to go away until everybody famous in Britain, as well as everyone else between the ages of 15 and 35, has dunked a bucket of cold water over their heads.
But now other countries are getting in on the act, and inventing their own culturally appropriate versions of the theme.
In India, they’ve launched the rice bucket challenge. This is pretty simple. You put some rice in a bucket, and give it to someone hungry. And, er, that’s it. No need to donate to charity. You’ve already been nice to someone. And no need to bring a change of clothes, either.
Even better, though, is the rubble bucket challenge, invented in Gaza, on the basis that you have to work with what you’ve got. They don’t have any water, you see, but they’ve got plenty of rubble. So there we go, dump a bucket of rubble over your head. Instant political protest. No need to give any money to charity because, well, they haven’t got any. Charities are giving money to them.
The question with this is where we go next? What’s the next variant on the viral meme? Obviously, like the two above, it could be dignified, graceful, and slightly chastening to rich westerners having fun. But Diary would prefer it if it was really silly. Maybe we could up the ante with the spice bucket challenge, where you cover yourself in curry? Or maybe we could go a bit I’m a Celebrity with the lice bucket challenge? Or perhaps people could donate to charity if they eat the extra-large bucket of chips sold at Dundee United’s football ground – the Tannadice bucket challenge?
Raising a substantial chest
But what about taking a different tack altogether to raise loads of cash? Look, for example, at a group of Japanese porn stars who are apparently this week holding a televised 24-hour breast-groping session to raise money for the Japan Foundation for Aids Prevention.
Diary isn’t sure that the messages of safe sex and licentious exploitation of another person’s body in exchange for money go perfectly together. But really, who are we to judge? And anyway, the porn stars and the charity seem happy with each other. The event’s now in its twelfth year, and is to be televised live, apparently, although it isn’t exactly clear whether this is televised on mainstream media, or televised on a subscription-only channel with a lot of Xs in the name.
Diary rather felt the best bit of the event is its name, or at least the English translation – the Boob Aid Squeeze-a-thon – but another strong candidate is Rina Serina, one of the young ladies involved, who announced in the Tokyo Star that she was “ecstatic” to be taking part.
“I never thought my boobs could contribute to society,” she said.
I got my pizza chef badge!
The Girl Guides are facing a problem, it appears. Everybody hates their new uniforms, which The Daily Mail said looked just like those of pizza delivery boys. It is extremely rare that Diary agrees with the Mail on anything at all, but it has to admit they called it right on this one. The girls do look like they work at Domino’s.
Diary should say, by way of apology, that we’re a little late to this story. But we never let that stop us from covering this sort of crucial issue.
