Well, At Least He Isn't Wasting Clean Water

It wasn't too surprising when Ben Affleck challenged Matt Damon to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Damon and Affleck are best friends and frequent partners in screenwriting crime. But how does the former Jason Bourne make his challenge video different from all of his celebrity pals, whose videos have already circulated the Internet? Well, he decided to support two charitable causes with one bucket, giving people all over the Internet the opportunity to write this sentence: Matt Damon dumped a bucket of toilet water on his head in his Ice Bucket Challenge video.

A confused reaction to that statement is understandable. After all, why would Damon — or anyone for that matter — douse himself in toilet water? There actually are a few reasons. Damon is a cofounder of water.org, an organization that funds bringing clean water to developing nations. It also seemed silly to him to dump a bucket of ice water on his head when the California drought is a serious, real issue. He's not alone with that thought; while many have praised the challenge for raising awareness and tremendous funding for ALS, many have also criticized the wasteful nature of the Ice Bucket Challenge in light of the drought — especially when wealthy celebrities are seen dumping buckets of water on themselves while standing besides lavish swimming pools.

Damon's solution to those qualms? To dump toilet water on his head — which he acknowledges may seem gross, but his California toilet water is actually cleaner than the drinking water in developing nations; a striking statistic.

While some may criticize Damon's video for taking away from the challenge's original cause, and others may view it as a plug for his own organization, you can't help but respect that he's managed to address one of the major criticisms of the Ice Bucket Challenge, raise awareness for ALS, and bring attention to water.org, as well.