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Ice Bucket Challenge game changer: Matt Damon dumps toilet water on his head

The wildly successful Ice Bucket Challenge has raised awareness about ALS and brought in nearly $90 million in donations to fight the devastating disease and fund research. But as actor Matt Damon proved in his chilly answer to the challenge, there's room for more than one good cause in an IBC video clip.Oh, and another thing he proved? There's more than one place to get that cold water.As a co-fo
Image: Matt Damon
YouTube/Water.org

The wildly successful Ice Bucket Challenge has raised awareness about ALS and brought in nearly $90 million in donations to fight the devastating disease and fund research. But as actor Matt Damon proved in his chilly answer to the challenge, there's room for more than one good cause in an IBC video clip.

Oh, and another thing he proved? There's more than one place to get that cold water.

As a co-founder of Water.org, a nonprofit organization that works to bring potable water to those who don't have access to it — and as a resident of drought-stricken California — Damon felt that dumping drinkable water on his head would be too much of a waste. So the star got creative when he answered the challenges issued to him by pals Ben Affleck and Jimmy Kimmel, and he used toilet water instead.

"This is truly toilet water," he says in the clip, kneeling to scoop some straight from the bowl into his bucket. "I've been collecting it from various toilets throughout the house."

WATCH: TODAY hosts take the Ice Bucket Challenge

Some (like Damon's wife) may find the stunt gross, but Damon said that's the point.

"Keep in mind that the water in our toilets in the West is actually cleaner than the water that most people in the developing world have access to," he explains in the video. "So as disgusting as this may seem, hopefully it'll highlight the fact that this is a big problem, and together we can do something about it."

After taking the plunge, Damon nominated George Clooney, Bono and Tom Brady to pick up their ice buckets, too. He didn't, however, stipulate that they follow in his toilet-water-soaked footsteps.

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