Some can't do it in 70. And yet, all over the country, lovelorn singles are trying to accomplish exactly that feat, every day. They're gathering in coffee shops and rec centers, renting out social halls and restaurants and nightclubs, and coming together in groups ranging from 30 to 300. They're paying 20 bucks a pop to sit across from other lovelorn singles at cozy tables for two, with time enough for basic introductions and not a whole lot else. They're doing this all night, sometimes 10 or 15 times a night, with 10 or 15 different partners, each of whom is playing the same exact game, and many of whom are taking detailed notes for later analysis.
Love is in the air.
If it all sounds absurd to you, well, you're not alone. It's been spoofed on television shows like Sex and the City , Frazier and Ed , and in films like the recent horror bomb Valentine . It has been used as a punch line almost since the day it appeared, held up by local news channels and syndicated tabloid TV shows as the logically desperate culmination of today's chronically desperate singles scene. And yet somehow, defying all basic intuition, Speed Dating has touched a nerve. And every week, most of those singles walk away surprisingly satisfied with the results.