Heidi Beck had had terrible days before.

But as the awful diaper scent burned her nostrils, she realized this date was too awful to shrug off.

Beck, 21, a senior from Blue Springs, Mo., majoring in home and family life, looked around the hospital emergency room and found it difficult to believe the evening had started as a relatively normal date, she said.

Granted, she said the BYU linebacker who had picked her up several hours earlier seemed excessively playful. Still, being tossed around like a rag doll by a jovial giant was not as painful or annoying as going hungry all night because your date did not think dinner was important, Beck said.

Unfortunately, she said both circumstances applied.

Beck said dinner was replaced by a rousing series of slides down Rock Canyon hill in garbage cans - not exactly the activity of dating champions.

During the tandem sliding event, Beck said she was convinced her life would be snuffed out by her 300 pound companion. Instead, the other girl on the group date almost had the honor.

"I was covered in poo from diapers in the garbage can," Beck said. "And the other girl broke her collarbone."

The remainder of the evening was spent in the emergency room, where Beck said she would never date again, unless her date would take her to dinner and help her avoid smelly unpleasantness.

Beck's tip for guys: "Plan fun dates, but not crazy."

Bad dates are common in Utah, where creative dating is considered a high priority.

Chelsy Wallace, 20, a sociology major at the University of Utah, also knows the fear of a bad date.

She had been told her blind date was a good, solid member of the Church with whom she would be able to relax and have fun.

However, Wallace said his idea of fun was evidently different than hers.

"When I opened the door when he came, I almost passed out," she said. "He had a pierced lip and eyebrow, and must have drunk at least three beers."

Wallace's date immediately asked to use the restroom where he woke the neighbors up with a raucous battle with the porcelain.

He then tried to make up for the rocky beginning by taking her to a fancy restaurant.

"He had torn jeans and a T-shirt, and I wasn't much better," she said. "I was so embarrassed."

The couple then went to a climbing gym, where Wallace's pants got caught on an outcropping and tore a sizeable hole in the seat.

"He laughed at me the rest the night," she said.

Instead of offering to take her home so she could change clothes, he took her to his house where his three dogs slobbered and made messes everywhere.

"The smell was nauseating," she said.

Amazingly, he tried to kiss her and asked what she was doing the following night.

Chelsy's tip for guys: "Think of the girl in everything you do, and stay away from piercings."

By planning ahead and keeping the other person in mind, most daters can avoid major mishaps and provide a fun and enjoyable evening for the both of them.

Copyright Brigham Young University 28 Feb 2002