Our research tells us that a Los Angeles Rabbi called Yaacov Deyo invented speed dating in the late nineties as a way for young Jewish singles to meet and find a partner.
Rabbi Deyo is a director Aish HaTorah - a Jewish resource group based in Los Angeles with a network of branches around the world.
It didn't take long for speed dating to spread throughout the world as a revolutionary way for busy single people to meet each other without any of the stigma associated with traditional dating agencies. Speed Dating is still very popular in the United States and it has been said that more than a quarter of New York bars host a speed dating night at least once a week.
Speed dating is also known as speeddating, speed date or speed dating in certain quarters.
The basic concept of speed dating involves an equal number of men and women attending a venue; each person spends between 3 and 10 minutes chatting to each member of the opposite sex. Each person then has to decide which people they would like to see again. The organisers facilitate an exchange of details if there is a match.
The original format involved men sitting along one side of a long table with the women lined up along the other, every few minutes the men moving along one space. Most speed dating services still operate according to this production line approach however Original Dating events in London and the UK have modified concept to give their clients more space and a generally more stylish environment.
Click here for the Wikipedia article about speed dating.
Click here to view our speed dating events in London