Tag Archives | Dating

On Romantic Matchmaking By Smell

By JacobSloan on May 23, 2012 in News 2

Possibly superior to online dating? Via Paleofuture, on when the new romance rage was organizing marriage by odor:

Dating sites claim they can find you the perfect match by using algorithms. This idea–wanting to make the frustrating world of romantic love into something quantifiable–is nothing new. The April 1924 issue of Science and Invention magazine ran an article by Hugo Gernsback, the magazine’s publisher, which examined the “scientific” ways to determine if a marriage will succeed or fail.

Gernsback claims that more marriages are probably wrecked by body odors than any other cause. During the body odor test, the couple is made to smell each other (“not a pleasant experience,” Gernsback opines) by one person being placed inside a large capsule with a hose coming out the top. The hose is led to the nose of the other person and if the smells aren’t found too objectionable (again, measured by devices strapped to the chest and wrist) then the romantic pairing is deemed safe.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 2

Looking For A ‘Doomsday Date’?

By Join Or DIE on April 13, 2012 in News 1

Alice Bell writes in the Guardian:

“Doomsday dating” really does exist: websites designed to match those with particular skills and resources for dealing with disaster, be it nuclear attack, extreme weather or economic collapse. Only in the US, perhaps, but with the petrol panics of last week (not to mention that “well from hell” off the coast of Scotland) maybe we could do with a version for dear old Blighty.

If you prefer fictional romance to the point-and-click experience of internet dating, Daniel Kramb has a book about love and climate change activism out next month, complete with the tagline “They want the burning to stop. She wants hers to begin”. He’s not the first author to explore the new politics of love in a changing climate either. I’ve come across the issue in the course of my academic research on children’s science literature. Take, for example, Saci Lloyd’s Carbon Diaries; a teenager’s diary set in a near future where Britain has implemented strict carbon rationing (think Adrian Mole crossed with An Inconvenient Truth).

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 1

God’s Online Dating Service For Christians

By majestic on January 8, 2012 in News 18

Thom Patterson asks “Is God going to hook me up online?” at CNN:

Has God taken an interest in the computer dating business? Does he (or she) have a username and password?

You might think so, if you’ve seen TV ads for the subscription-based dating website christianmingle.com.

The announcer says confidently: “Find God’s match for you.”

Really? Is God going to hook you up online? Cue the blogospheric debate…

Continue Reading · 18

British Supermarket Chain Starts Dating Service Based On Shopping Habits

By JacobSloan on March 23, 2011 in News 8

Asda, a British retail giant owned by Wal-Mart, has launched an online dating site which matches singles by the products they purchase. Because, really, you are what you buy, and who would want to cohabit with someone who consumes a different brand of toilet paper? Business Review Europe gets starry-eyed:

Asda customers may be able to find love among the cabbages. According to Asda, the novel idea came about after a survey conducted on 10,000 of their shoppers showed that 71 percent of men and 64 percent of women look for a possible match in their local supermarket. And 41 percent said they viewed contents of fellow shoppers baskets to try and gauge whether they were single. Asda has decided to give the lonely hearts of our nation a helping hand!

Asdadating.com is the ‘perfect matchmaking option,’ explains a Asda spokesperson, ‘you can chat to fellow shoppers you like the look of whilst getting your weekly shop done.’

Asda’s dating website matches potential partners based on their shopping habits.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 8