Architect Frank Lloyd Wright had a point when he wryly observed that "Television is like chewing gum for the eyes."

On average, based on Nielsen ratings, children in the US will spend more time in front of the television set per year (1,023 hours) than in their classrooms (900 hours). That's a lot of, um, gum.

In fact, Americans typically watch more than four hours of TV every day. From age 2 through 65, that translates to watching more than 10 entire years of TV. Those statistics alone should be enough to enthusiastically support TV-Turnoff Week, which is under way this week and expected to inspire some 7.6 million Americans to break away from their sets - at least for a few days.

The DC Jammers will hand out books to try to give people an alternative to watching television this week. If you are around the DuPont Circle area around 6-7pm try to get a book yourself, or help pass out a few. And most importantly, turn your TV off this week.