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Crazy Blind Date offers instant relief for spring fever

Who needs a caption?Stop pretending to get things done at work. Spend five minutes on the chance of real live human affection by tomorrow night — for free! — by signing up at Crazy Blind Date. (It's a publicity stunt from OKCupid.com — unlike the personals site, it doesn't carry ads.)

The site's appeal is its simplicity. Unlike the endless informational screens you're required to fill in at OK Cupid, Crazy Blind Date — run by the same people — only asks when you're available for a date and where you're willing to have it. Bar or coffee, that's all you get. Enter an email address and a mobile number where you'll be sent alerts as potential blind dates are selected for you depending on their availability, proximity, and compatibility based on a few more short questions you've both been asked.

Now?

The more flexible you are, like Priceline, the more chances you've got to have someone looking for a cocktail in Cole Valley on Friday between 7 and 11, too. No photos are swapped but they are kept on the site, blurred. You each get to trade texts for a half-hour before the date, routed through CBD. After that, you're on your own.

Does it work? One scrawny blogger I know took a girl to bed on date number two. For my own trial, I walked away from one date after a painless thirty minute chat. But another evolved into a second date with him and his wife. The pared-down website forces you to be brutally honest about what you want out of a half hour coffee date. If it doesn't work tonight, save your preferences for tomorrow. (Photo by GracinhaMarco Abundo)

12:00 PM on Thu Mar 27 2008
By Melissa Gira Grant
2,568 views
6 comments

Comments

  • No commenter image uploaded sample032 at 12:16 PM on 03/27/08 *

    But how does this compare to Craigslist?

  • I tried it once and had a nice, but unmemorable lunch. I haven't really tried it for a hookup. If it gets popular, it'll end up just like Craigslist - just one more avenue for spammers to harvest email addresses.

  • Image of Nick Douglas Nick Douglas at 04:20 PM on 03/27/08 *

    Always accept the site's suggestion of "cafe or bar." It's a rule among all players: Never make a blind date for dinner or anything you have to pay $40 for, because you might know it's a bust from the first minute.

    I had better luck on CBD than on Craigslist; the latter either gets me regrettable sex or lots of e-mails that go nowhere. The whole point of CBD is wham bam meet; speed dating without all the icky suits.

    Also, that girl I slept with on the second date was a total cutie.

  • Ok, just looking at the assortment of mugs on OKCupid, statistically I'm getting a Fatty if I do this.

  • @Tator Tot:

    Almost every non-invitation Internet dating site is going to give you a higher percentage of people who are less height-weight proportionate and possibly some people who have some emotional baggage.

    Let's be real: well-balanced, happy, self-confident swimsuit/lingerie models, cheerleaders, waifs, and surfer chicks do not need to go online to get a date.

    If you ever see a thin 22-year-old blonde chick with C-cup breasts on an Internet dating site, you can be assured that's a spammer in disguise.

  • I'm going to increase my chances by setting up a "date" for last call.

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