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Choose Between Two Options

• $10 for entry for one to any speed dating event ($20 value)
• $19 for entry for two to any speed dating event ($40 value)

Speed Dating: The Fast Track to Romance

Speed dating brings new meaning to the phrase “love at first sight.” Check out our overview of these events of instant attraction.

The round-robin-style dating model was developed by Rabbi Yaacov Deyo and his wife Sue in 1999, and to ensure fresh, unpredictable conversations, they put only two topics off limits during the seven-minute dates they arranged: the daters’ jobs and where they live.

Today, the Deyos’ model has been adapted and modified by secular speed-dating agencies around the world, some of which combine the pleasures of conversation with activities such as chocolate-tasting or yoga. The rules and regulations of each event vary depending upon the company hosting it, but one constant is that people are only matched up if both parties express interest.

To an onlooker, a speed-dating event may resemble a psychology experiment, and indeed the format has created a convenient petri dish for researchers. An article in Current Directions in Psychological Science endorsed the process, declaring that speed dating grants participants “the assurance that the people they meet are also interested in meeting romantic partners” and “the ability to give each partner unambiguous acceptance or rejection feedback without having to do so face-to-face.” And even if you feel a spark with only one particular date, you may be in luck: another study in Psychological Science found that during the dozens of speed dates the researchers observed, “If a participant uniquely desired a particular partner, the partner tended to reciprocate that unique desire.”