8 Minute Dating

December 12, 2002 9:07 AM

8 Minute Dating.Start the clock! Is it possible to find your soulmate in under 10 minutes? Forget about those long romantic dinners and slow walks on the beach. The trend now is to just meet, greet, check for a spark and move on. Talk about making a first impression count!
posted by rrtek (24 comments total)

Expatica has these 'Ready, Set, Date!' things. It's like sexual bingo.
posted by four panels at 9:21 AM on December 12, 2002

oh man -- my coworker did this, the other night. His account of it is hilarious.
posted by sodalinda at 9:23 AM on December 12, 2002

Speed-dating in bars, photo personals on the web, broadcast personals on TV Stictly Personal, riding in singles-only New York subway cars, and still can't find a date? Might as well give it up. We must be a very promiscuous society, or such a lonely one that "hooking up" serves as the best medecine.
posted by Voyageman at 9:35 AM on December 12, 2002

His account of it is hilarious.

I laughed, I cried, I salivated at the mention of chicken fried steak.
posted by Dick Paris at 9:43 AM on December 12, 2002

Talk about making a first impression count!

When I first met my partner, I thought he was the biggest ass on the planet. We've been together 11 years now.
posted by archimago at 9:53 AM on December 12, 2002

His account of it is hilarious.

It was pretty funny. On the other hand, it seems a bit hypocritical to ridicule one of the women he met for taking notes when he's writing about all of them on his web site.
posted by anapestic at 9:55 AM on December 12, 2002

It would be, if he ridiculed her for it. I don't read it that way, though. Am I missing something?
posted by Songdog at 10:05 AM on December 12, 2002

Seems appropriate that this topic is sandwiched between 'The Eternal War Fund' and 'Entrances to Hell'.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 10:16 AM on December 12, 2002

Goddamnit. This seems crazy enough that it might work. Women of Milwaukee: PREPARE FOR THE UNIQUE EXPERIENCE THAT IS SHARKSANDWICH!!!
posted by sharksandwich at 10:30 AM on December 12, 2002

Dude, I don't need 8 minutes. I can finish in 2. Of course, I'm married.
posted by danisaacs at 11:24 AM on December 12, 2002

You know sodalinda, your coworker can actually write. It's a very good text, although "single ironic but still horny male" is written all over it.
This 8 min-the-clock-is-ticking thing is kind of sad though. The women (from what I gathered from the USA Today article linked by rrtek) sound specially calculating and some are perhaps a bit resentful.
posted by 111 at 11:28 AM on December 12, 2002

111: dead-on. he's a good guy though and an amazing writer. The feel I got from the 8-minute dating thing (I was there -- it was fascinatingly like a spectator sport) was that it would only really work for a very specific type of pairing -- the practical, semi-calculating woman with the "good, steady job" executive. But then again, maybe it was just that particular crowd.
posted by sodalinda at 11:51 AM on December 12, 2002

This is, of course, a step up from "8 Mile" dating, in which you spend most of the time making subtle references about how you hate your mother and aren't really a homophobe.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 12:06 PM on December 12, 2002

...women sip candy-colored cocktails, maraschino cherries bobbing on the surface.

Cherries sink. Details... DETAILS!
posted by Witty at 12:11 PM on December 12, 2002

8 minutes? My relationships never last that long.

On a more serious note, I think it probably is a good way of meeting like-minded people. I wouldn't go to an 8 minute dating thingee, but people who do at least have something in common.

Being blunt and saying you're looking for guys with a six-figure income can't really help in your social life tough.
posted by sebas at 12:15 PM on December 12, 2002

Being blunt and saying you're looking for guys with a six-figure income can't really help in your social life tough.

If that's really what you're looking for, it can. Obviously, you can't figure out that someone is Mr. Right in 8 minutes, but you can often spot Mr. Wrong in even less time than that. The person who wanted a six-figure income was a meeting planner, presumably a successful one. That means she's very organized and used to finding out what people need quickly. The kind of person she wants is very likely to be attracted to that kind of directness. Sure, it won't make her any friends among other people, but she probably doesn't care.
posted by anapestic at 12:30 PM on December 12, 2002

singles in chicago must be busier than their nyc counterparts.
posted by srk at 12:32 PM on December 12, 2002

> When I first met my partner, I thought he was the biggest
> ass on the planet. We've been together 11 years now.

Well, don't keep us in suspense. What do you think of him now?
posted by jfuller at 1:01 PM on December 12, 2002

I think an interesting variation on this would be if you prohibited any one from discussing themselves but only allowed commenting about the previous date you sat with. So it would be sort of like what everyone seems to be doing anyway (especialy here), but more honest and direct. (The first date sitting could discuss someone from the last night out or such) You can tell alot about people by their reactions and opinions about other people.
posted by HTuttle at 1:06 PM on December 12, 2002

it would only really work for a very specific type of pairing -- the practical, semi-calculating woman with the "good, steady job" executive.

That would certainly be my thought, too. Though, being perhaps a tad more bitter than you, I'd probably delete the "semi-."

::: wanders off, wondering suddenly if he has any good traits that might come across in just 8 minutes :::
posted by rushmc at 4:05 PM on December 12, 2002

With the current crop of singles, "there is this sense of urgency," says Maria Peevey, co-author of Are You My Boyfriend?

*cough*psycho*cough*
posted by eddydamascene at 4:31 PM on December 12, 2002

Are You My Boyfriend?

You are not my boyfriend. You are a SNORT!
posted by moss at 5:47 PM on December 12, 2002

although "single ironic but still horny male" is written all over it.

Hey, be nice to us single-ironic-but-still-horny guys!

This idea is both fascinating and repellent, by the way. How does one present oneself as charming, alluring, desirable, what-have-you in eight minutes while simultaneously sizing up the person across the table for the same traits?

I tend to end up dating people I've known a loooong time as friends. I sometimes wish that weren't the case, or maybe I'm too picky, (or too repellent), but it just seems like I get to know people best when there's no rush.

However, if you're cute and sitting next to me on a plummeting airplane, the above does not apply.
posted by Vidiot at 10:56 PM on December 12, 2002

This is not as silly as it sounds. You can't decide in 8 minutes whether you want a second date with someone? How about deciding that you don't want a second date with someone? If the physical/chemical thing isn't there, you can tell in 8 minutes.

Disclaimer: I met my wife via the an e-mail sent through the much-more-observant-than-I Aish Hatorah mentioned in the article; their Virtual Speed Dating.
posted by ParisParamus at 5:08 AM on December 13, 2002