The Weird Way You Met Your Significant Other

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New data shows that the most first dates don’t come about as the result of an awkward introduction, an awkward set up, or an awkward pickup line at a bar. Most first dates happen because the couple involved met online. But what about the people who are still meeting potential mates under comparatively bizarre circumstances? If you’re one of those people, we want to hear all about it.

First, the numbers: According to a survey conducted by Match.com (so, you know, grain of salt, since it’s always a little suspect when research conducted by a provider of a service concludes that said service is essential to the continuation of society), the largest portion of first dates (31%) happen between two people who met online. The second most common place (25%) to meet is through a friend. The third is at work. Being ensnared in the web of inescapable allure woven by a hat-wearing pickup artist in a depressing club, shockingly, did not make the list.

I’m not surprised that most people meet potential date partners online now; websites like Match and OKCupid offer users the ability to browse potential dates in a low-risk environment and filter out the really blatant red flags. It stands to reason that most couples that I know look shyly askance and mumble “… OKCupid…” when asked how they met (a habit that, might I add, seems a little silly given online dating’s ubiquity).

Other people I know have slightly more unorthodox stories. One Jezebel staffer met a guy she went out with for a few months after the pair found themselves on the same segment of sidewalk as a building nearby collapsed. They watched together as a cloud of dust arose, looked at each other, and went to get a drink. My boyfriend and I met because he mistook me for a stand up comedian slated to perform on the same bill he was. We chatted briefly after his set only to find out we worked in the same building. Then, later that evening, he approached me while I was mid-deep conversation with my friend at the bar and suggested we go to lunch together since we worked in the same place. I scowled. And the rest is history.

But I’m sure that among the internetting masses there are stranger stories. Meet your boyfriend because you were both in traffic court at the same time? Did sparks fly with your girlfriend because you dropped a $10 bill and she was nice enough to pick it up and hand it back? Were you both kicked out of the same bar? Did you both have to be excused from the same dissection class in med school? Here’s your chance to share your meet-weird.

Image by Jim Cooke, sources via Shutterstock.