Years ago, The Learning Channel dumped learning in favor of Honey Boo Boo and a family led by a couple that doesn’t know how to just sit and talk at night. The History Channel slowly went from history to Hitler to the Harrisons, and The Weather Channel—once a force so powerful in America that it was the authority on weather—followed that same misguided path, eschewing the perpetual map briefings that turned them into a powerhouse to begin airing reality programs about pudgy beards, people anxiously ogling at rocks, and the foibles of a buncha rushin’, cussin’ truckers.

Dog poop, chicken wings, hugging a television screen, and an MSNBC anchor in her pajamas. Last night I watched an hour of Al Roker's attempt to break the world record for longest live television weather report, and something's definitely broken, but it isn't the record.

Beginning at 10:00 PM ET tonight, Al Roker will embark on a 34-hour quest to break the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous live weather report. The ever-present weathercaster for NBC and The Weather Channel seeks to break the current record of 24 hours.

The creators of Syfy's upcoming movie Sharknado 2: The Second One managed to write Al Roker and Matt Lauer into the script during a (probably) 2½ minute brainstorming session shortly after the surprise success of the first Sharknado movie last July.