Speed Dating. Meet dozens of new people in one night, and perhaps that special someone. Speed dating offers the chance to interact socially with a lot of different people.

Speed Dating

Modern dating techniques are based on the principle that if you meet enough people in a short space of time, eventually one of them might like you. Speed dating is as far as this principle can be extended before venturing into the murky realm of the internet. Essentially the concept is that you 'date', meaning talk to and presumably engage with a different prospective partner every few minutes. This combines the forced connection brought about by a blind date with the new rapid fire approach to dating to create an intensely charged atmosphere. Possibly in the hopes of creating sparks.

Speed Dating originated in the late 1990's and utilizes a round-robin format to help daters meet several people one-on-one at the same event. Each date typically lasts ten minutes or less before you move onto the next potential mate.

You may not know in ten minutes or less if you want to marry the person, but you can often tell if you at least want to see them again. Plus, if you know right away it's a mismatch at least you're not stuck sitting through a boring dinner waiting for the check.

Typically no contact information is exchanged at the end of each speed dating session. Rather, at the end of the evening, each dater submits a list of people they would like to see again. The event organizers look for matches and provide contact information to both parties for each match made.