In the past two decades, online dating has become the most common way couples meet in much of the world. However, as this 1966 video from the BBC programme Tomorrow’s World shows, for almost as long as computers have existed, there have been people trying to use them to find the perfect romantic partner – and, on the business side, make a buck in the matchmaking process. Featuring footage from an event organised by an early computer dating company attended by some 2,000 singles in Manhattan, the clip illuminates the many ways in which the process is similar to the popular dating apps of today. This includes: vaguely psychological questionnaires, imperfect matches, a good deal of ardent scepticism and even some satisfied customers.
Video by the BBC
videoLove and friendship
What does it mean to say goodbye to a creature that doesn’t know you’re leaving?
13 minutes
videoMedicine
Drinking wine from toxic cups was the 17th century’s own dubious ‘detox’ treatment
11 minutes
videoEngineering
How water-based clocks revolutionised the way we measure time
10 minutes
videoFamily life
A mother and child bond in an unusual prison visitation space in this poignant portrait
11 minutes
videoEnvironmental history
In Kazakhstan, ‘atomic lakes’ still scar the landscape decades after Soviet nuclear tests
13 minutes
videoSocial psychology
What happened when a crypto scam swept over a sleepy town in the Caucasus
18 minutes
videoArchitecture
A 3D rendering of the Colosseum captures its architectural genius and symbolic power
17 minutes
videoHuman rights and justice
Surreal, dazzling visuals form an Iranian expat’s tribute to defiance back home
10 minutes
videoMaking
On the Norwegian coast, a tree is transformed into a boat the old-fashioned way
6 minutes