Hey podcast listeners, you are about to hear an episode from our archives number 154,

which we originally put out in February 2014.

Before we get to that, Freakonomics Radio, as you may or may not know, is produced by

the Public Radio Station WNMC, which means it is produced in part by you, our listeners.

That's right, you send us money and we turn your money into Freakonomics Radio.

So please go to Freakonomics.com and click on the Donate button.

Now you may be thinking yourself, wait a minute.

Sure, I like this podcast fine, but doesn't really accomplish anything, does it?

I could see thrown a few dollars there away if it accomplished something, but it doesn't,

does it?

Okay, I want to tell you a story.

About two people, Mandy Griselik and Tim Barnhart.

Hello.

Mandy is a nursing student in Cincinnati, Tim's an engineer, also in Cincinnati.

When the story begins, they don't know each other.

Mandy, however, is a big fan of Freakonomics Radio.

I listen to the podcast on a Thursday morning on my way to work and it was titled, what

you don't know about online dating or something along those lines.

This was around Valentine's Day.

And I had been single for a while and thought, hey, maybe I'll be able to date an MPR employee

because that's whose profiles they were looking at on the show.

The very day she hears this episode, Mandy Griselik decides to sign up for online dating.

...