Matchmaking Services

You likely didn’t know that August 31st is national matchmaking day. Cue the horns, all matches will be made on the 31st, the end of divorce is imminent, if we collectively place our future in the hands of these capable love consultants then we’ll never have to go to seedy nightclubs ever again. Perhaps, but that’s a heck of a lot of pressure (and unrealistic at that).

Since the days of ancient Greece and China, even Aztec civilizations displayed remains of matchmaking at work. Determining the right kind of suitor has been a constant preoccupation for humankind, ever since we first began to experiment with fire. In Japan for example, the process of omiai involves two young people being matched by a nakodo, setting up meetings and sending messages and pictures to the families. In Jewish culture the shadchan is a revered figure, meticulously interviewing women and men and calling upon an ancient “algorithm” to put together the perfect match.

Living currently in the age of Bumble and Tinder one might think we find ourselves in the heyday of matchmaking. While the internet has facilitated the process to some extent, the 1920s were witness to the first scientific tests surrounding how to match two people and whether said match would result in a long-lasting (happy wasn’t considered) marriage. The first part of this test was a pulse exam to measure one’s excitement while kissing. The second gauged again one’s level of excitement or pleasure, but this time in watching their potential mate suffer. This sounds crazy, but this second test did in fact weed out all the weirdos.

The third test was a smell test – a scientific way to determine if you enjoy the other person’s smell. And the last test (and boy did we save the best for last), was the gunshot. That’s correct, a gunshot was fired in the air and the nervous reactions of the two potential mates were measured. If they were too nervous at the sound of a gun, the conclusion was that they’d be way too nervous to wed. Super scientific, right? Well, people have been trying to get to the core of what draws two people together, and moreover, how to predict whether they’ll remain together.

In today’s climate, folks have navigated away from the traditional services and right to the internet. It’s Just Lunch has been exploding as of late, a super casual take at dating and since 1991 the site has arranged over 2 million first dates around the globe. As a client one simply interviews with the company and the match is taken from there. DestinAndRachel is another popular site, where in addition to matching services they also offer dating profile management advise plus relationship coaching. Elite Global Dating is geared towards successful and ambitious men who are seeking the same in their female counterpart. The idea here is folks are super busy so let’s make this matching process quick and easy.

Honestly, the number of sites these days can be overwhelming. The previously mentioned are a fine first start, then take it from there.