The Mid Century Vault

Currently Playing: 106 Matchmaking by Mainframe Computer in the 1960s

Long before swiping] right, finding a Friday night date meant surviving terrible college mixers, blind dates, or awkward family setups. But in 1965, a group of Harvard undergrads decided to let a room-sized IBM mainframe do the matchmaking instead. Welcome back to The Mid-Century Vault! In this episode, host Philip Mershon uncovers the fascinating, hilarious, and sometimes scandalous history of the very early computerized dating services. From Joan Ball’s "Com Pat" in London to Harvard's wildly successful "Operation Match," we dive into how punch cards replaced punch bowls—and how the system actually worked. We also explore how retro sitcoms like Bewitched and My Three Sons poked fun at the trend, the massive scams that eventually emerged (like Project Flame), and the reasons why the original era of mainframe dating went into hibernation. Get the Book! Read more about the history of Operation Match in Patsy Tarr's fantastic new photo history book: https://www.artbook.com/blog-operation-match.html Join the Conversation: Did you or your parents ever use a compatibility questionnaire back in the day? Let us know how your "match" turned out in the comments below! #RetroTech #DatingHistory #1960s #MidCenturyVault #HistoryOfTech #VintageComputing #OperationMatch #PopCultureHistory