“When I blow this whistle, no matter how cute your date is, it’s over and y’all have to move on,” the party host says.

I went to a speed-dating event in Philly with a group of Bryn Mawr friends. We had varying degrees of investment in the event—some were looking for love, some looking for new friends. Me? I was just along for the ride. My friend had found the event online, on a site called HurryDate, completely devoted to speed dating in the Philadelphia area. 

We had trekked over to Field House Bar near the Market East station across from Reading Terminal. A hostess greeted us at the entrance and led us into the VIP room behind the bar, dimly lit to create a somewhat romantic ambiance. We signed in and received a nametag with a number on it. Wooden tables for two ringed the room. I chose one near the wall and settled down with my special-speed-dater-price margarita (extra salt), waiting for the other speed-daters to arrive.

Once we began, the male participants circulated around the room for four-minute dates at the various tables while the females stayed put. After each date, we made a mark after each participant’s name for either “Yes, I’m interested,” or “No way in Hell.” 

“Yes, I’m interested” does not exactly mean marriage, just that you had a good date. Later, we were told we could go online and send requests for further information through HurryDate’s database – probably to protect against the possibility of stalking or other unsavory occurrences.

And what a relief! Though some of the dates I had were perfectly charming and pleasant, others were downright appalling.

Note to would-be speed-daters: it is not exactly a good idea, upon hearing that your date is from Bryn Mawr, to ask her if she is bisexual.

Also, it might not be the best idea to proposition your date at the end of evening. We don’t actually like that.

“It’s an efficient way to meet people,” said a female participant, who proclaimed that this was her thirtieth time speed dating. 

Others cited the event as a means of expanding existing friendship circles. A pair of engineers invited us out for a drink afterwards, saying they only came to meet some new people. They seemed perfectly content to have picked up a group of Bryn Mawr girls, if only for our charming companionship. We ordered a fresh round of drinks and laughed ourselves silly.

I have to admit, it was an entertaining night.

Twenty dates. Four minutes each. So much pressure, but a lot of entertainment. Not bad.

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