Tue, Jan 03, 2006 page16

• Life Style Briefs

  • AGENCIES
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  ■ `Does my bum look big in this?'
  

  It is one of the most fundamental and potentially hazardous questions of modern life, for which academics now hope to provide the definitive answer: "Does my bum look big in this?" The School of Textiles and Design at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh have begun what is believed to be the world's first-ever study on how women's clothing affects the bottom. Models with variously sized posteriors will wear different types of clothing as part of the research, which will examine how designs, colors, patterns and fabric types affect perception. Others will be asked to assess how big or small each model's backside appears to look in the outfits. "This study will provide for the first time detailed and usable information that would enable designers to make the clothes that help women make the most of their natural assets," said Dr Lisa Macintyre, who is leading the study.

  ■ Harry Potter to the rescue
  

  Harry Potter may not yet be able to mend broken bones with a wave of his wand, but the pint-size wizard of book sales apparently has the power to reduce playground injuries, British scientists reported in a study published this week. Working on a hunch, a group of trauma surgeons from Oxford's John Radcliff Hospital ran a statistical study on the correlation between the incidence of "musculoskelatal injuries" among seven to 15 year olds and the release of new volumes in the popular Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Lo and behold, on the weekends when two of the titles -- The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince -- were released, emergency-room attendance rates for the designated segment dropped by nearly half compared to "normal" weekends, 36 and 37 kids respectively in need of mending rather than an average of 67.

  ■ Kenyans chill at the ice rink
  

  Eager for a dose of winter, Kenyans are stepping out of blazing equatorial heat into the chill of east Africa's first ice rink for halting forays into sports normally associated with colder climes. In a land where the only snow most people will ever see is at the peak of the country's highest mountain, would-be Kenyan hockey stars and figure skaters have been flocking to the Solar Ice Rink here since it opened this month. The 1,393m2 facility is billed as the largest of Africa's three ice rinks -- the others are in Cairo and Johannesburg -- and can accommodate up to 200 skaters at once.

  ■ Online preferences revealed
  

  The old cliche that men are loath to ask for directions is borne out by facts -- on the Internet, at least. A new study published this week found that while US men probe deeper into the Web's hidden depths and use it for entertainment, women are more likely to go online for practical purposes and to talk to friends. The latest snapshot of the Internet's growing role in the modern world, from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, also found women closing the gap on total online time. The survey found that men are more likely than women to check adult Web sites, weather forecasts, read news, find do-it-yourself information, track sports scores and look for financial information or job research. Women however, use the Internet more to talk to other people, through e-mail or news groups for instance, and are more likely to seek health and medical support, and look for religious consolation.

  ■ `Bigfoot' alive and well
  

  Malaysia's wildlife department said this week it would investigate claims that "Bigfoot" man-like beasts are roaming the jungles of southern Johor state, an official said. Newspapers have this week aired stories of sightings of the legendary creatures, and photographs of a giant footprint left near a jungle swamp. The director of the wildlife department's biodiversity conservation division, Siti Hawa Yatim, said they would examine the prints, which reportedly measure up to 45cm. "We are going to check first if the case is a true one," Siti Hawa said.

  ■ No doves of peace this year
  

  Polish Christmas nativity scenes, which often include live animals, were without chickens, doves or other winged creatures this year because of worries about bird flu. "We wanted, as in previous years, to include birds in our creche alongside other animals," said Father Jan Maria Szewek, in charge of the nativity tableau at the Franciscan church in Krakow in southern Poland. "But the farmer who usually lent us his poultry reminded us of the measures brought in because of bird flu," he said. This summer the Polish veterinary authorities ordered poultry to be raised indoors and banned sales in the open air and bird shows and competitions, worried that the disease might spread from neighboring Ukraine.

  ■ Minority rules for aussies
  

  Australia is trying to recruit ethnic minorities to become lifeguards in the wake of racial violence on a Sydney beach last month. The southern state of Victoria yesterday announced stepped-up plans to enlist "multicultural ambassadors" as lifeguards, just weeks after neighboring New South Wales did the same. "Volunteers play a vital role in our community, [so] it's important our volunteers reflect the diversity of the wider community and build on Victoria's reputation for tolerance," said acting state premier John Thwaites. Most lifeguards on Australian beaches are young volunteers, and it was an attack on two of them at Sydney's Cronulla beach, allegedly by a group of ethnic Lebanese men, that sparked last month's race riots. Dozens of people were injured and arrested in two days of violence which shocked Sydney and set this former British colony questioning its attitudes to racial minorities.
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