Trashy TV

Make over shows and other trashy television are such a vice, especially over the holiday season. One of the horrible shows I decided to try out is the TLC "10 years younger." The premise, roughly, is that they take a willing participant, have 100 people guess their age (and state why they think they are that age). They then reveal the average age people guessed and compare that to their real age. For the make over, the participants undergo minor cosmetic make over procedures (lasik eye surgery, cosmetic dentistry, microdermabration - no plastic surgery) and then hair, make up, etc. Then they put them back into the public eye and have people guess again. The goal? Look "10 years younger."

The show itself, semi-interesting. Not my favorite make over show, but not terrible. But what makes it fascinating is how BAD people are at guessing ages. They had on a 29 year old who, granted, looked a LOT older than 29, but people guessed she was 45-65. Sixty-five! Not only is that range huge, but mid thirties is really the highest I would've thought you could give someone with such flawless skin. When they were done with her, people actually guessed she was 21. Again, it's hard to figure out how old people are, but to be off by three decades? Goodness.

The other fascinating thing is that people guess the ages for such random reasons. Wearing tapered pants? "They must have bought those 20 years ago - so she must be 50." Bad outfit? Add 15 years. Wearing glasses? Add ten years. Bad (or worse - NO) make-up? Add five years.

It really is eye opening. It makes me want to start guessing ages and seeing how far off I am. It makes me deadly curious to know the average guess on myself and the people around me would be. It also makes me want to Tivo the show more often, just to watch the spectacle. Darn you TLC!