Did you endure a bad date last night? If so, you're not alone.
Online dating websites and apps like Tinder have opened a portal to an entirely different universe, and single people are going on dates with individuals they'd probably otherwise never meet — or even want to!
It's perfect comedy fodder, according to Rachman Blake and Elena Gabrielle.
The comedians have spent the past six months travelling the globe getting audiences to share the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to dating.
"It's like AA for dating," , Story Party producer Blake said of the show.
"I think a lot of people who offer their stories are ones who have been on a bad date from online," Gabrielle added.
"With online dating, you only get a photo and a little bit of information and nothing else; I think about how my parents got together and it was at the local footy club and they were friends of friends who introduced them together."
Does dating vary from country to country?
Blake said the show had confirmed that Western countries and cultures approached dating differently to the East.
"Some places are more conservative than others, and some places take the whole idea of getting married and having a family more serious than others," he said.
"For instance, in the West you're pretty much on your own when it comes to marriage — you decide, you pick and your parents don't get too involved.
"But if you go to places like India, a lot of the time the whole family is involved in the decision-making process."
The most memorable dating stories
Asked which shared story stayed at the forefront of his mind, Blake recalled one nervous Tinder user.
"One of my favourites was this girl who really liked this guy; she was very nervous about the date and wasn't sure where it would go," he said.
"She was using Tinder for a while and had always ended up with horror stories, but she was pretty sure this guy was going to be a keeper.
"She did some googling and background checks.
"She found out the guy was one of the descendants of Saddam Hussein — and she just wasn't ready for that."
At a recent show in Canberra, audience member Michael Slater was brave enough to share one of his horror stories.
"I once met a girl on Tinder who seemed like a nice girl at first," he recalled.
"It's the first date and we're having a drink in a pub. Under her shirt there was something moving really rapidly. She pulled out a bearded dragon lizard and put it in my face.
"I thought, 'Hmmm, this has never happened before'."
Put down your phone
Having heard multiple dating fails, and experienced some of his own, Blake encouraged people to get off their phones if they wanted to be lucky in love.
"Eighty per cent of the stories come from online dating horrors.
"It gives people another reason to get off their phone and not be in front of the screen.
"They need to get a joy out of real life."
