Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 33

WARM FUZZIES ABOUT BRA BURNING, MINISKIRTS BILL SASS SECTION (ft Id FRIENDS WHO HAD A SECRET FLING C2 KEEP FLUFFY OUT OF YOUR BEDROOM C4 I 0 -y EDITOR: BARB WILKINSON. 429-5374; livingfthejournal.southam.ca EDMONTON JOURNAL FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2002 ON THE EDGE TV DATES XT i 0055 Temptation Island, A-Channel: Unmarried couples travel to an exotic locale to test their relationships. They're introduced to a bevy of eligible singles, then separated from their partners until the final day of the trip. Love by Design, HGTV, (premiered I this month): A woman chooses her date from among three guys after seeing only their living spaces. Then she, the host and design experts redecorate the prospective date's pad.

Only then does boy meet girl. The Real Sex in the City, Bravo (premiered this 'l. month): Series explores the dating lives of a recurring cast of "real" (read skanky) New York women. Singles on Life, Life -Network (premieres in April): i Documentary-style series follows the dating lives of a group of singles in Vancouver. Out in the City, Life Network (premieres.

in April): Documentary-style look at single gays and lesbians dating; in Montreal. Shipmates (doesn't air locally): Two strangers meet for the first time on a cruise ship, where they spend three days and two nights on an exotic date visiting romantic ports of call. And yes, viewers get to see what goes on inside, their cabin. Chains of Love (cancelled, surprisingly): Four singles are chained to a contestant of the opposite sex for three days. The contestant cuts them loose one by one, until one "winner" is left.

-iC0ATF: rttulURUJirRATION. THE JOURNAL A Dating Story, TLC: The basic, no frills formula Couple is set up on blind date by mutual friend. Viewers watch what happens, without commentary, pop-up bubbles or studio interviews. Polite and tame. Matchmaker, Life Network: Would-be matchmaker hooks up two friends with the help of host Andrew Anthony, then follows couple on their date in a TV-equipped limousine.

Elimidate, A-Channel: Four suitors are pitted against each other, vying for the favour of a single guy or girl. Viewers go along on this "comedy dating series." The word comedy is used loosely. Blind Date, A-Channel: Couples seemingly chosen for their incompatibility go on a date as viewers watch. Noted for its -hilarious pop-up commentary. Change of Heart, A-Channel: Guy and gal who have been dating less than a year and aren't living together are each set up on a date with someone who fits their description of an ideal partner.

Will they have a change of heart about their relationship? Fifth Wheel, A-Channel: Two couples go on a double date, then switch partners. Finally a fifth, extremely annoying person is added to the mix, just to stir things up. Armchair datin: In 1986, 12 per cent of American women had shoe sizes 9.5 and higher. In 1994, that number increased to 17 per cent. In 1998, 30.4 per cent of all women's shoes sold were size 9 and above.

designershoesalon.com The average increase in the protrusion of a woman's buttocks is 25 per cent when she wears high heels. Harper's Index The mathematical theorem the Scarecrow recites in The Wizard ofOz after receiving his diploma "The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side" is not true! In actuality, the Pythagorean Theorem states "The square of the Hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the squares of the two remaining sides." geocifes.com Genghis Khan, "universal ruler," wasn't the real name of the man who ruled much of the known world in the 13th century. ItwasTemujin. The Book of Answers People in the Dominican Republic, where Christopher Columbus landed, think his name is jinxed and won't mention it There have been earthquakes, plane crashes and other accidents associated with occasions honouring the explorer. The word they use for this jinx is "fu-cu" (pronounced foo-coo).

Dressing for Dinner in the Naked City and Other Tales from the Wall Street Journal's "Middle Column' The most interesting vestigial (made useless by evolution) part of the body is the only bone that does not appear to have been assigned a task. The coccyx begins as four small bones that fuse into one as you mature. But it has no more use as a solo act than it did as a quartet. The coccyx is commonly called the "tail bone." It may be the remnant of the tail we once had, but in our time, it just sits there. How A Fly Walks Upside Down by Martin M.

Goldwyn The speed of sound, known as Mach 1, varies at different altitudes. It's 1,216 kilometres an hour (760 miles an hour) at sea level, but drops to 1,056 kilometres an hour (660 miles an hour) at 10,800 metres (36,000 feet). Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts A hummingbird weighs less than a penny. Encarta.com A mole can dig a tunnel 90 metres (300 feet) long injust one night. New York Daily News Compiled hy Chris Zdeb, Journal Staff Writer We like being voyeurs in TV dating shows 'will they go to bed, what will they argue MARTA GOLD journal Staff Writer EDMONTON an home-and-garden network is getting in on the act.

HGTV has launched its own daring-style show called Love by Design, in which a woman redecorates her prospective date's apartment. "My sense is that people kind of like being voyeurs," says Cook. "We've all had good dates, we've all had really rotten dates and we like watching people go through that. When you see things really start to tank, you can think to yourself, Wow, am I ever glad that's not me. See DATISG I C2 lationships.

And audiences apparently can't get enough. The tamest versions show polite, G-rated excerpts from a blind date arranged by a mutual friend. The naughtier ones offer multiple dates, date-swapping, relationship-testing, nudity (with strategic blurring), and racy commentary. "It seems to be a trend that's not going away any time soon," says Jodi Cook, publicist forthe Canadian-made dating show, Matchmaker, which airs onlife Network. Matchmaker is so successful it has gone from airing seven times a week, when it first launched a year-and-a-half ago, to airing 25 times a week starting this spring.

It's not just weepy, romantic gals tuning in. While the network's audience is more than 60 per is split equally between the sexes. Life Network will have two new dating shows starting this spring: Singles on Life, a documentary-style look at recurring characters on real-life dates in Vancouver, and Out in the City, a program about relationships in Montreal's gay and lesbian community. Even the Canadi He's cute, well-dressed and brings flowers for the first date, which he wants to spend skydiving. You're impressed and so is his date.

You watch eagerly as the sparks fry. Or better yet, the evening sours and you're glued to the tube. You've heard of armchair athletes. Welcome to armchair dating. At least a dozen "reality" TV sripjys are on the air or -in the works, all of them offering a voyeur's-eye-view of re DAVID HOWELL Journal Staff Writer EDMONTON Dutch treat Nordic ski triathlon starts winter festival of speed skating, sleigh rides and sledge hockey sports." The Silver Skate festival follows the triathlon, beginning at noon.

It offers family skating races, the traditional Kortebaan race, performances by the National Ice Theatre of Canada, a straw bale maze, horse-drawn sleigh rides, and ice sculpting and sledge hockey demonstrations. Speed skates will be availablefor people wanting to try the long blades. The Dutch Canadian Club is supplying food and volunteers. The winter triathlon had already been in existence for a couple of years when Dootjes thought up the festival as a way to bring some of the winter spirit of his native Holland to Edmonton. Silver Skate started out at the Victoria Park skating oval but its popularity prompted the move to Hawrelak about seven years ago.

See SKATE I C2 ple; it really is for everybody." The festival is a double-barrelled event. In the morning, there's the Winter Triathlon a five-km skate, five-km run and five-km Nordic ski, for individuals and teams. About 150 athletes are expected to take part. (Registration forms are available at the Tech Shop, Track 'n' Trail and other city sporting good stores.) The 10 a.m. mass start on the ice is the most exciting part to watch, triathlon spokesman Russell Gottschalk says.

He also recommends spectators check out the transition area at the north end of the lake. Most winter triathletes have been training all winter, says Gottschalk, who takes part himself. "This is a hard country to live in when it's -20. Training for the triathlon gives people a reason to go out and participate in winter A swoosh of speed skaters races across a frozen lake. Arms and legs pumping in sync, they whip by in tight formation, like low-flying geese.

Their blades make a rhythmic "slick-slick" sound against the ice. Now picture this same scene with a crowd of onlookers, enjoying themselves on their own skates. Throw in some entertainment and some Dutch treats maybe even some fries with mayonnaise and you've got a festival. In Edmonton, it's called the Winter Triathlon and Silver Skate Festival. The 11th annual version goes at Hawrelak Park this Saturday.

Weather co-operating, it will attract 5,000 or 6,000 people. GREG SOUTHAM, THF JOURNAL Speed skaters a big part of Silver Skate Festival at Hawrelak Park. "I think Edmonton can stand a honorary consul for the Nether-fairiy sizable winter festival," says lands, festival founder Rikke Dootjes, "And it isn't only for Dutch peo A.