For centuries, it seems, singles have been looking for their match in bars. We’re not sure how the practice got started, except for the fact that alcohol can sometimes help people get over their fears of talking to someone they don’t know. But, past that, the idea that you can meet your true love in a bar is a huge myth; though it seems to be one that people still subscribe to.

In fact, in one study, just 9% of women and 2% of men reported ever finding a relationship in a bar. That pretty much says that it’s no better place to find a relationship than, say, going to church. In fact, going to church might be a better way, because you would, theoretically at least, immediately have your faith in common with someone you met at church. In a bar all you can count on having in common is alcohol.

Now, we’re not trying to discourage you from hitting happy hour Friday night with your friends after work. It’s a great way to relax, unwind and have some fun with your buddies. If you like to dance, going to a dance club is a great way to meet some new people or connect with your friends.

The important message here is to view going out to the bars and clubs for what it really is: a fun way to hang out with your friends. If you’re relying on the bar scene to help you meet your one true love, you’re likely to be very disappointed. And, to make matters worse, if you do make a match in a bar, it’s less likely to pan out than matches you make elsewhere because it’s typically based solely on looks and fueled by drinking.

So, look for some new ways to meet people. Take a class in something you’re interested in, like cooking, photography or a foreign language. Join a club or take up a sport. You’re more likely to meet someone you can really be compatible with – and you can save happy hour for your friends.

Dating Essentials Alcohol, Bars, Church, Hobbies, Singles

Everybody who is looking to meet new people online wants to connect with others whose interests are the same as theirs. After all, this is the basis of just about any personal relationship, right? Having similar interests is nothing new and there are plenty of online dating sites out there that focus on matching up interests, sometimes even very narrow, specific interests.

These specific interest sites are a great way to meet like minded singles if there is something that is really, really important to you, like physical fitness, music, or the like. But what about books? Lots of people love to read, and these same people often want to meet others who love to read as well.

Enter Alikewise.com, a new online dating site that is set up especially to connect singles based on their reading habits. Instead of searching by height, weight, age, or the like, this unique online dating service connects you with others by allowing you to search by books they have read.

That’s right, books. When you set up your profile you list the books you’ve read that you really like, which can be sorted by author and book title. Then when you’re ready to search for other singles you search for those who have read a particular book or author. It’s that simple and that unique.

So let’s say you loved “The Shining” by Stephen King. You include it in your list of books read and then search for others who have included it in their list as well. Your search will return a list of singles who have read that book, allowing you to connect with any of them you find interesting.

Think of it as going to the library and looking over the shoulder of someone else to see what they are checking out. It’s a fun and unique way to connect with other singles!

Relationships Alikewise.com, Hobbies, Meet People, Reading

Online dating sites have always tried to offer unique and interesting ways to match up potential mates. From personality traits and characteristics to hobbies and activities, there’s no shortage of supposedly “guaranteed” approaches to helping you find your life partner.

Now there’s something new in the world of online dating that might seem really strange – genetic profiling. Yes, genetic profiling. Sounds like something out of CSI, right?

The really interesting thing is that there is some scientific evidence to support the idea that your genes have some role to play in how compatible you are with another person. It seems there is a particular group of human genes called human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) that relate to your body’s immune functions, but they also seem to produce certain attraction-related responses in some cases.

This response was tested by – get ready for this – by conducting an experiment where women sniffed the sweaty t-shirts of men. Researchers found that women tended to prefer the scent of t-shirts from men whose HLAs were very different from their own. Additional research has been done over the last couple of years that seems to confirm there is at least some correlation between couples with different HLAs and their long term relationship satisfaction.

One company, called GenePartner, has started to offer testing to decipher your HLAs in the hope that someday the results from these kinds of tests will be incorporated into mainstream online dating websites. I wouldn’t recommend running out and spending your hard earned money on such a test right away, but it’s worth tucking away in the back of your mind as something to keep an eye on in the months and years to come!

News & Views Genetics, Hobbies, Personality, Profiling, Women