Speed Dating: Is It For Real?
6 Comments Published by Alex February 8th, 2007 in Romance. Share This
Like many novel matchmaking strategies, the origins of speed dating was developed by Hebrews; Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah is credited with the invention as a way to ensure that more single Jewish people met each other in cities where they were outnumbered by goyum. While remaining a wholly unnatural way for people to meet, this idea caught fire and now there are speed dating events in virtually every major and minor city in the United States, and many more abroad. Speed dating has been in existence for less than ten years.
The gist as I understand it, based only on punch line scenes of countless movies and TV shows, is that first impressions are adequate enough to base a decision to move forward on, and they are often permanent. One should expect to know within this brief an amount of time if the person they are barraging with direct questions and feeding straightforward answers to is someone they would be interested in getting to know better.
On paper it makes sense, even if it isnt’ the most romantic way to meet a partner, but I have neither tried it myself nor do I know anyone who has given it a shot.
My research, however, has uncovered some related interesting information, check it out after the jump.
•20/20 once sent both a male and a female set of twins to a speed dating event. One of each set was wearing pheromones, and the ones wearing pheromones received more matches. This supports the ideas raised in yesterday’s post about scent.
•The taller a man is, the more desirable he is to women; with every inch he is 5% more likely to attract positive reaction in a potential date. (Wear lifts, guys.)
•Men generally attend these events solo, whereas a group of single girlfriends will attend en masse.
•Getting a similar group of people together for a big old fashioned game of truth or dare sounds like a lot more fun.
I’m hoping that some of our readers might have some experience with this phenomenon, or at least know someone who has done it and passed on some feedback to report to us.
I know you’re just trying to be cute, but if you haven’t tried speed dating, why would you feel the need to knock it with your last bullet? Oh yeah — it’s a blog. Gotta have an “attitude,” right? Hope you have luck recruiting mature young eligibles for your hot game of sixth-grade Truth Or Dare. :)
The last time I played ToD was right after college; this girl down the hall used to host these little sex game parties, always a hoot. So I’m a little juvenile, but tell me that wouldn’t be fun.
Hey, you really think that was attitude, man? I don’t think I was knocking speed dating, but it sounds to me like you might be defending your own experience with it – do you have something practical to offer, or were you just casting a stone?
Well, no — I don’t have any personal experience with “Speed Dating,” but I have friends who’ve done it with good results. They all feel it’s a great way to get single people together in a low-pressure, no-strings environment, away from the booze filled social petri dish that represents the local bar scene.
Meeting the right person is a numbers game. The more you meet, the better the chance of finding your match. I myself am a recent married thanks to Dr. Neil Clark Warren and the folks at Eharmony. If you’re serious about finding someone, you have to work at it. Speed Dating, It’s Just Lunch, etc., put hopefully like-minded people together in an environment where they can put aside pretenses and just talk to one another. Not a bad thing in my book.
Eharmony commercials are the only place on television that allows ugly people.
I attended a speed dating party here in Kansas City several years ago, and long story short, I got no matches. I’m on the geeky side and definitely an introvert, both of which I think worked against me in this process. Yes, the setup forced me to have a conversation with about thirty women, but the women I was looking for (and who are looking for me) are a small percentage of the population, and were not represented in at least the one speed dating event I attended.
I had much better luck with the Spring Street online personals, meeting several people for one date and one date only, a few for more than that, and finally meeting my soon-to-be fiancee when she found a mention of an obscure band we both like in my profile.
I bet speed dating would be great for the outgoing, but for introverts like me it was just the awkwardness of bar scene thirty times in a row.
I’ve known a few people who have admitted that they’ve done speed-dating. All serial-monogamists and tall men who went alone, also jewish and gay.