A Record-Holding Couch Potato

How long can you watch TV?

Well, if you can do it for longer than 70 hours, you've got a shot at the Guinness Book of World Records. Just ask the current record-holder (and perennial Guinness entrant), Toronto's Suresh Joachim:

Joachim broke the Guinness world record for the longest time spent watching TV. He finished Friday with 69 hours and 48 minutes.

Joachim did his TV viewing in the lobby of WABC-TV as part of the "Guinness World Record Breaker Week" on the syndicated "Live With Regis and Kelly."

Joachim, who lives in Toronto but hails from Sri Lanka, now holds more than 16 Guinness records, including the longest duration balancing on one foot (76 hours, 40 minutes) and bowling for 100 hours. He does it, he says, to raise awareness of suffering children.

Apparently he may have also set a record for "longest period of voluntary masochism." Either that, or he couldn't find the remote:

Sitting on a brown leather couch, he watched nothing but ABC network shows.

Ouch. Way too many hours of World News Tonight, The View, Desperate Housewives.

Of course, it could've been worse: being from Toronto, he might've tried the CBC.

Now, if you want to break Joachim's record, you do get a few breaks according to the Guinness rules: you can take a 5-minute break every hour and a 15-minute break every 8 hours (for things like the bathroom, meals, etc.). Otherwise you must continue to stare at the screen.

Oh, and you can get the forms to claim the record here.

Of course, one of the hardest things about setting this record is what to do during those times when there's nothing good on ...