Turn Off Your TV...Turn on the Conversation with TableTopics
TableTopics Celebrates TV Turnoff Week by Launching New Collection of Conversation Starters

Orinda, CA - March 23, 2005 - TableTopics (www.tabletopics.com) - a new collection of conversation starters published by RUBY MiNE with editions for adults, families, and teens who want to spark more fun, interesting, and meaningful discussions-believes that every conversation has the potential to be great-to inspire us to action, enrich our relationships, and connect us to the people we care about most.

But who can talk when the television is on?!

That is why TableTopics today announced its support of TV Turnoff Week, which will be held April 25-May 1, 2005. Millions of people all over the world have participated in TV Turnoff Week since it began in 1995. Children and adults take part through schools, churches, or community groups, as families or individuals.

"With less personal time than ever before, and fewer opportunities to gather with the people closest to us, it is more important than ever for families and friends to connect over conversation," said Cristy Clarke, TableTopics founder and mother of three. "With forty percent of Americans frequently or always watching television during dinner, our families are missing out on the real prime time-conversations that bring us closer together, make us laugh, and help us learn."

In fact, according to a study published in 2001 in the Journal of Marriage and Family, for children, the single strongest predictor of academic achievement and low rates of behavioral problems is the amount of time they spend having meals and conversation with their family-a more powerful predictor than time spent in school, studying, going to church, or playing sports. TableTopics helps foster these connections by inspiring great conversations between friends, family, and acquaintances.

According to the TV Turnoff Network, a national nonprofit organization that promotes TV Turnoff Week and which encourages children and adults to watch much less television in order to promote healthier lives and communities, television cuts into family time, harms our children's ability to read and succeed in school, and contributes to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity. Here are just a few facts from TV Turnoff Network:

• On average, children in the US will spend more time in front of the television (1,023 hours) than in school this year (900 hours).
• As US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said at the Kick Off of TV-Turnoff Week 2001, "We are raising the most overweight generation of youngsters in American history...This week is about saving lives."

Inspired by her own frustration with shallow cocktail party small talk, founder Cristy Clarke created the first TableTopics questions by testing them with her young daughters around their family dinner table. It was the depth and insightfulness of those dinnertime conversations that convinced Cristy that TableTopics had the potential to inspire meaningful connections in every home, office, and school.

"I hope families across the country will join me and my family in turning off the television during TV Turnoff Week. I mean, who needs TV when you've got the drama of life to talk about!" continued Cristy.

Table Topics retails for $25.00, and is available at gift stores nationwide and online at Uncommongoods.com (www.uncommongoods.com). For more information and to find a TableTopics retailer near you, please visit www.tabletopics.com.

About TableTopics

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Orinda, CA, TableTopics is a collection of conversation starters published by RUBY MiNE. TableTopics' 160 fun, interesting and thought-provoking question cards are packaged in a beautifully designed acrylic cube that is as much a conversation piece as the questions inside. Inspired by her own frustration with shallow cocktail party small talk, founder Cristy Clarke created the first TableTopics questions by testing them with her young daughters around their family dinner table. With five editions - Original, Family, Teen, Couples, and Girls Night Out - TableTopics is committed to making the most out of the conversations that happen around us every day, no matter where we are, or who we are. For more information and to find a retailer near you, visit www.tabletopics.com.

Cristy Clarke
Founder and CEO
925-258-9901/p>