Chicago, IL (WFN) -- No wonder they call it the boob tube: A new survey suggests that 50 percent of Americans admit they've opted out of a social occasion in order to stay home and watch TV.

According to a poll by Cable On Demand, 24 percent of couch potatoes tell their friends they are "simply too busy" to meet up.

-- 11 percent claim they're "...coming down with something."

-- 11 percent simply tell friends, "Ooops! I completely forgot."

-- Finally, four percent try to get out of a previous engagement in order to watch TV by pretending there's a family emergency.

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