Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people.The first speed-dating event took place at
Pete’s Café in Beverly Hills in late 1998.
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.
