Do Pickup Lines Ever Work?

Full disclosure before we go any further: I am a happily married man and haven't dated in more than a decade. When I did date, I was never really comfortable with so-called pickup lines for two main reasons:

1. I seriously doubted they actually worked.

2. Even if they did, I didn't have the confidence to use them without sounding corny or creepy.

It turns out, they do work (sometimes).

Men's Health recently featured a story, "20 Women Reveal the Pickup Lines That Actually Worked on Them". A few of the instances cited I actually consider to be conversation starters, rather than cheesy pickup lines. Things like asking someone about their musical tastes at a concert or their food preferences at a grocery store.

Others fall squarely into the pickup line category and are as cringe-worthy as ever:

• "Nice freckles!"
• "I’ve been trying to work up the courage to give you my number."
• "What’cha doing for the rest of your life?"

Another that made me throw up in my mouth a little: a guy at a restaurant calls his female server over to tell her there's something missing from the bill. What was missing? Her number of course! Not only did that line work, that couple eventually got married (although she did admit "it helped that he was/is hot, too.").

It was refreshing to see two women admire the genuine approach. One said the best approach was "just saying 'hi'", while another summed it up best:

Pickup lines? Guys that use pickup lines are just players that just want to get laid.

What were the best/worst pickup lines you've ever heard/used? Did they work? Go to our Facebook page and join in the conversation now!