While most of us spend the holiday season out-and-about, dealing with the hustle-and-bustle of shopping, shoveling, and worrying about how to pay the 32% interest rate on the annual Christmas card bills, Ben Eckerson, a 24-year-old production coordinator at McKinney advertising agency in Durham, N.C. has been living in an inflatable snow globe much of this week -- it was almost three full days Friday morning, as he appeared on CBS' The Early Show just before setting his world record!
It's being shown live, 24/7, via Web cam at Snowglobeboy so anyone can take a look. But after 78 hours, 30 minutes and one second, a world record for time spent in such a spot, it seems Ben finally had to go out and have a Hot Toddy to celebrate...of couse still spreading his holiday cheer. So how does he pee? Eckerson has been spending 51 minutes a day outside the globe to tend to personal needs.
He told co-anchor Harry Smith his agency wanted to send a "green" holiday card this year, and came up with the snow globe idea -- sending out digital cards via the Web site. He's not doing this for himself, but for charity. His company, McKinnet advertising choseThe Center for Child & Family Health offers diagnostic, treatment, and preventive services for children at risk of experiencing trauma. It has not only earned the respect of the local and regional community, but is a model that can be used on a national level to change the way we deal with child abuse.
He must have left the globe last night to attend his company holiday party. After all, he said, he RSVPed! The respoinse on the net has been overwhelming. Eckerson says he's gotten so many e-mails since entering the globe, he can't even respond. "It's bananas," he said. "It really is!" Eckerson says that he loves Christmas, so he was a perfect choice for the project. He says he told his bosses, "I'm totally game" to be the snow globe boy.
So, to honor the true Spirit of Christmas, we here at Discover Insanity salute the heroic and bizarre efforts of Ben Eckerson and his world record setting snow globe experience. Congratulations Ben - we hope you got a little "holiday cheer" from a hot little toddy at the party last night! Out of the snow globe of course! This isn't Big Brother! 
