Ooo, peanut crackers! (via flickr user Nicole Lee)

The internet is a wonderful tool for cultivating romance awkward booty calls. But while it’s great to get a peek at what goods your online date’s got before you do the deed, it’s even more important to know what special, uh, viral surprises they’ve got for you. That’s where Qpid.me comes in; it’s a new, free online service that’ll store and share your STI test results, sparing you from having to tell another one of your lovers about that time you had chlamydia. Isn’t the modern world amazing? (more…)

The perfect place to find love. via Flickr user Nick Sherman

There is nothing worse in the game of romance than the missed connection. If we didn’t know any better, we would think that all of these passive-aggressive, middle school-style love notes were all written by aspiring comedians trying to come up with the most ridiculous scenarios to not engage a person you’re interested in banging. But, they’re real, terribly terribly real, and sometimes people study them. Like a researcher at Psychology Today, who mapped out where the most Missed Connections occur in each state, and made a handy infographic out of it. (more…)

Will your date compare?

Ladies, tired of going home with your date, taking his pants off and then barely suppressing your laughter/disappointment? Aren’t we all. Fortunately, there’s now a way to take some of the guesswork out of predicting what your partner is packing. Predicktor is a new free app that will give you an educated guess on whether your date has equipment that looks like a baby’s arm holding an apple, with just a little bit of relevant information on him. (more…)

Hey, if this is what does it for you. via Flickr user monicamüller

Hallmark holiday or not, Valentine’s Day is almost here. And whether you’re practically wifed up or starting something new, you’re probably looking to end the night (and wee morning hours) with some sexy time. But alas, February 14th warrants some high expectations, and you can’t rely on just any cheap date to do the trick. But fear not, Brokesters-in-love: we’ve got seven economical dates near-guaranteed to get you a roll in the hay: (more…)

Crazy Blind Date: don’t say they didn’t warn you. via PSFK

Remember all those laundry days when you walked around in public wearing track pants and a mismatched oversized sweatshirt? What could be better on those days then running into your ex on the street? We’ll tell you what: unexpectedly running into your next potential online date. That’s right, OkCupid, like your grandmother during the holidays, is once again intervening in your dating life by bringing you an app with a surprisingly honest name, Crazy Blind Date. (more…)

Celebrate love, at Pearl’s. via Cafe Ghia

First dates are filled with all sorts of fears and anxieties – especially when you’re meeting that person for the first time (ah, online dating). Those dates aren’t so much dates as they are interviews, so you want to keep it low pressure and comfortable. A low-key bar – a dive especially – makes a great first date: casual, no pressure to be super romantic, but dark and homey. Also, there’s booze.

When it comes to these first dates, there are two extremes: you can discover a major deal breaker and need to make a quick exit, or you can get so wasted that you ignore that deal breaker and you go home together. Most dates fall somewhere in between. Here are some potential places for that first meet up. (more…)

Fun fact: everyone here is on a date. via Flickr user Bernt Rostad

Gone on any dates involving too many martinis and a traipse around the Brooklyn Brewery? Well, hate to break it to you, but so has everyone else in Brooklyn. So say the data miners at first date factory HowAboutWe, who’ve released figures based on helping setting up one millin dates around the country. The breakdown for New York? We lead the nation in grabbing drinks and going somewhere to soak up some culture. (more…)

Need more nice guys in fedoras? Worry not, there’s a new dating site for Brooklynites. Photo by fedorasofokcupid.tumblr.com.

Have you thought about downloading Grindr and then remembered you’re not a gay man? Are you tired of cruising OkCupid, only to find that there are just too many gentiles? Are you exhausted from trying to impress someone on the first date when you know they’re already looking for is marriage? Now two Brooklyn-based dating sites are offering us what we really want: casual sex.
(more…)

Friends, no benefits

A new Harvard study tackled that timeless question: does the friends with benefits (FWB– not SWV) situation actually work? After coming down firmly on the side of party bros everywhere, this time science is coming on the scene all Professor Buzzkill, at least if you put a premium on “feelings” and “open communication” as opposed to just straight banging. (more…)

The couple that Snuggies together…breaks up when it gets nice out. via Facebook

As the days grow shorter and we begin to enter our own Fortresses of Solitude, there’s a primal drive awakening among us single folk. Just as squirrels furiously scramble to store their nuts for winter, many singles are furiously scrambling to…uh, get their nuts taken care of, too. And the best way is with a winter girlfriend (or boyfriend!).

This someone to hunker down with for hours upon hours of cooking at home, an entire season of Walking Dead, and never-get-out-of-bed sex during snowstorms. A winter relationship is probably the only relationship that doesn’t cost more when you’re in it, because you literally do nothing. And what happens after winter? Well, that’s up to you, but generally, once spring and skimpy clothing come back around, one or both parties will realize how little they have in common beyond a mutual understanding of Peggy Olson’s character arc.

(more…)