In 1998, Rabbi Yaacov Deyo and his students came up with a new way for single people to meet each other - they called it speed dating. It started as a programme for Jewish singles in Los Angeles, but soon spread all over the world.

Was speed dating invented by a rabbi?

It might surprise you to learn that a Los Angeles rabbi, Yaacov Deyo, invented Speed Dating -- a rapid-fire courtship concept in which singles spend just a few minutes getting to know each other. It started as a way to help Jewish singles meet each other, but its spread beyond the Jewish community.

Who came up with speed dating?

BY MOST ACCOUNTS, SPEED DATING ORIGINATED in Los Angeles in 1998, invented by a Jewish Rabbi named Yaacov Deyo as a way to bring single Jewish people together in the days before JDate.com. It quickly proliferated in the 00s.

When did speed dating become popular?

2000 In 2000, the dating technique reached craze status, spreading quickly to rest of the Western world, taking strong footholds in both England and Australia.