Wobbly Table Stunt Raises Awareness of Parkinson’s Disease

Shake it Up Foundation

Here in Canada there are nearly 100,000 people living with Parkinson’s, while in the US, at least 500,000 are believed to suffer from the disease. Unfortunately these figures are expected to increase as the average age of the population increases. In Australia, Clyde Campbell (who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2009) launched the Shake It Up Foundation in 2011 to promote and focus on Parkinson’s research, where one in 350 people are affected by the disease.

On April 11, World Parkinson’s Day, Shake It Up Foundation volunteers placed 1,000 wooden door wedges under tables in cafés and restaurants around Sydney. As people sat down at the wobbly, shaky tables they experienced an example of one of the symptoms of the disease (thank goodness no one spilled hot coffee in their lap).

The wedge was printed with the message, “It’s more than just the shakes”, and then when flipped over read, “Thirty Australians are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease every day. But thousands more are affected, from family to friends. You can help stop it at shakeitup.org.au”.

[via mUmBRELLA]

Australia