Great Places to Meet That Special Someone!

Finding your soulmate is part luck and part hard work.  Your perfect match will end up getting married to someone else unless you take steps to be in the right place at the right time. 

But so many "hot" places to meet members of the opposite sex are crowded and sweaty, which can make your mascara run if you're a woman or make your body odor worse if you're a man.  Your Dating Advisor surveyed singles scenes across the country to discover out-of-the-way places where your chances of meeting Mr. or Ms. Right are much better than your basement or a grungy bar.

Great Places for Women to Meet Men:

Prison:  Despite efforts by gender equality advocates to make sure both sexes enjoy the benefits and endure the burdens of society equally, the fact is that there are many more men in prison than women.  "Men are always getting into trouble, women keep their mouths shut when the teacher's looking," says Oliver Porter, a professor of behavioral psychology at the University of Indiana-Terre Haute.  "A woman who stands at a prison gate and does nothing more than bat her eyelashes will meet more eligible men than a D-cup bimbo on wet t-shirt night."

Staying hydrated is good for your health.

The odds are good for these female chain gang participants.

Chain gangs:  Say what you will about overexposure to the sun, the men you'll meet on a chain gang get plenty of fresh air and exercise, and have the muscles to show for it.  Many "high maintenance chicks" in BMW's and other luxury sedans drive right by handsome hunks with hammers in their hands.

Sorry, you can't go in the ring.

Prize fights:  The only women at a boxing match are the round card girls and the women with the flabby upper arms manning (womanning?) the beer taps.  Knock yourself out!

Great Places for Men to Meet Women:

Convents:  Despite what you may have read about nuns being "married to the Church", many are willing to dump a 2,000 year-old institution if the right guy happens to come along.

"Can my friends come along?"

Garbage dumps:  With cutbacks in municipal services and an increased interest in recycling, more women are taking on the unpleasant task of driving to their local dump to dispose of their garbage.  Pick a spot next to the household hazardous waste bin and offer to help a "damsel in distress".

Boring work events:  Surprising as it may seem, many men attend boring work events--department lunches, professional education classes, raging forest fires--because they like to.  For example, it's easy to strike up a conversation in an operating room when you share an interest in cutting-edge prostate surgery techniques with a six-figure surgeon.  "Oh my God--that is so gross!"

"I'm getting a caramel macchiato--how about you?"

Unisex Meeting Places:  I know, talking to someone standing next to you in line is such a cliche, but it works if, like Barney the Purple Dinosaur, you use your imagination.  For example, try turning around--"Excuse me, I think the line's moving that way."  Or let your eyeballs roll back into your head and pretend you're a zombie-like member of an apocalyptic cult.

"Need coffee . . . need coffee . . ."

If you're in line for your morning cup of coffee, there may be enough of a resemblance to induce sympathy, or even a smile, from the person you're hitting on!

Copyright 2008, Con Chapman