Odds and ends 8/22/04

Teens set record for watching TV

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A pair of teenagers who spent more than two straight days publicly glued to a television set say they have set a new world record for uninterrupted TV viewing.

Chris Dean, 16, and Mike Dudek, 17, both of Grand Rapids, logged 52 consecutive hours of viewing time by the time they ended their feat at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The teens, who are incoming high school seniors, surpassed the Guinness World Records mark of 50 hours and seven minutes by nearly two hours -- giving new meaning to "must-see TV."

"We've got a record under our belts," Dudek said.

Confirmation of the record could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months because documentation must be sent to Guinness, Dean said.

The teens set up their television inside an International House of Pancakes restaurant because it is open 24 hours a day and the management was willing to participate.

"It's a strange thing to want to do," said server Virgil Sandberg. "It's probably one of the strangest things I've ever seen here."

According to rules set by Guinness, Dean and Dudek were required to remain awake with their eyes always on the television screen. They were given a five-minute break every hour and restroom trips were permitted only during 15-minute breaks every eight hours.

Dean's parents, Gordon and Brenda Dean, helped document the event and said they were proud of their son's unusual achievement.

"He has to be good at something, this is just as well," Gordon Dean said. "He set a goal and reached it."

-- From wire reports