Speed Dating Hong Kong-hk speed dating

Speed Dating in Popular Culture

Speed dating is far too fraught with potential pitfalls and is too obvious a reflection of the fast-paced society in which we live for art to not emulate it. Some of the places speed dating has appeared in are:

『The 40 Year Old Virgin』 – Steve Carrell’s character is talked into trying speed dating. He has little success.

『Hitch』 – Eva Mendes gives speed dating a shot after Will Smith turns out to be a jerk.

『Speed Dating』 – The 2007 Irish film chronicles a man who finds he has become addicted to speed dating.

『8 Minutes To Love』 – Sandra Oh finds her boyfriend engaged in a speed-dating event. She gives him a speed date to win her back.

『Yes, Dear』 – The premise of a 2003 episode of CBS’ sitcom is a bet between two main characters over who can win the most admirers during a speed-dating event.

『How I Met Your Mother』 – Someone at CBS likes speed dating. The stars of this show hosted a speed dating event at Grand Central Station in New York City in 2005.

『The Graham Norton Show』 – The legendary late-night British talk show host sent his cameras to a London speed dating event on one episode.

『Speed Dating the Musical』 – This play will make its world premiere at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington, Ill., on March 29, 2008.

Top Tips for Speed Dating
There are lots of tips for ensuring you have the best speed date possible. Some top tips are:

To attract each other, men should wear blue and women should wear red.

Women should wear the scents of vanilla and cinnamon to attract men.

Men can increase their chances by sporting a black licorice scent.

Refrain from getting drunk.

Smile.

Today, modern speed dating is still rooted in shidduch, but with formal dating services replacing the role of the Rabbi and his wife as matchmakers. These services compile the data from brief encounters between daters and then inform each attendee of the results, allowing interested parties that scored a 『match』 to pursue another meeting with each other.

The original SpeedDating service is still intended to help those of the Jewish faith find a shidduch. However, others have extended their scope to include people of all religions, shapes, sizes, interests and sexual orientations. SpeedDating and its offshoots have captured the imagination of popular culture, fitting nicely into the fast-paced environment of 21st-century America.

In 2000, the dating technique reached craze status, spreading quickly to rest of the Western world, taking strong footholds in both England and Australia. Although its overall popularity in the United States may have waned in recent years, it has become an established and accepted form of dating, with speed-dating events held in cities throughout the U.S.

Some cottage industries have even sprouted from the speed-dating theme, including Web sites dedicated to tips for successful speed dating. One site offers hypnosis downloads — tailored for men or women — that boast a calming influence to create the best possible attitude for speed dating.

So what is speed dating, and more specifically, how does speed dating work? Perhaps even more importantly, does speed dating work? Read on to learn more about this old Jewish tradition that has become an international phenomenon.

Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, originally as a way to help Jewish singles meet and marry. 『SpeedDating』, as a single word, is a registered trademark of Aish HaTorah. 『Speed dating』, as two separate words, is often used as a generic term for similar events.

The first speed-dating event took place at Pete’s Café in Beverly Hills in late 1998. Soon afterward, several commercial services began offering secular round-robin dating events across the United States. By 2000, speed dating had really taken off, perhaps boosted by its portrayal in shows such as Sex and the City as something that glamorous people did. Supporters argue that speed dating saves time, as most people quickly decide if they are romantically compatible, and first impressions are often permanent.

Men and women are rotated to meet each other over a series of short 『dates』, usually lasting from 3 to 8 minutes depending on the organization running the event. At the end of each interval, the organizer rings a bell or clinks a glass to signal the participants to move on to the next date. At the end of the event participants submit to the organizers a list of who they would like to provide their contact information to. If there is a match, contact information is forwarded to both parties. Contact information cannot be traded during the initial meeting, in order to reduce pressure to accept or reject a suitor to his or her face.

These events typically require advance registration, often an online prepayment by credit card. However, they may accept a few walk-ins when needed to balance the gender ratio. Some services make use of waitlists when signing up to strive for exactly the same number of men and women, while others have a more 『party』 atmosphere and only aim for an approximately matching number.

There are many speed dating events now in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Many of these simply specify an age range for ladies and gentlemen; sometimes a slightly older range is specified for men. On the other hand, many organizers offer niche events such as nights for graduates only, gays and lesbians, older men with younger women and vice versa, book lovers, ethnic events, and religious affiliation such as Christian speed dating.