5 Sneaky Questions to Ask a Man

By Christian Rudder, Glamour magazine

Hello. My name is Christian Rudder, and I work for OkCupid, the biggest free dating site in the United States. As my job has taught me, there’s a certain amount of basic information that needs to be covered on any first date: Where are you from? What do you do? How many siblings do you have? But it’s hard to get a full read on a new guy over one glass of wine in a noisy bar! So the team at Glamour asked us to reveal some conversational cues that will help you get to know the real him much faster (like, five-minutes-after-you-meet-him faster).

Related: 12 Secret Signs He’s Into You

We took our assignment seriously. Using data from our 7 million users, we developed some statistical models that allow us to predict the questions to ask that will actually tell you something about him. We looked for superficial, chitchatty stuff that gives real insight into deep and significant things—so you can make small talk and find out about the big issues while you’re at it.

And now, from the dark depths of our database, here are five questions that reveal more than you’d think:

If you really want to know: Does he usually sleep with someone on the first date?

Then ask him: “Do you like beer?”

Here’s why: Our research shows that beer lovers are about 60 percent more likely to be into sex on the first date! This is true of women, too. Take a look at the chart on the right for a more specific break-down. (A whopping 85 percent of guys who like beer are inter-ested in sex on the first date!)

So ask him—he’ll never know why. But remember: Since alcohol is also linked to increased risk of getting an STD, a wise follow-up here might be, “Do you like the taste of penicillin?” So go forth and get it on, but use a condom!

Related: What Your Jeans Say About You (According to Guys!)

If you really want to know: How smart is he?

Then ask him: “Do you have a TV in your bedroom?”

Here’s why: It’s a common cliché that too much TV is bad for your intellect, but we were surprised at the strength of this correlation. Three quarters of men without a TV in the bedroom aced our battery of basic-intelligence questions, while three quarters of guys with a TV in the bedroom failed. Wouldn’t you rather have him concentrating on you in there and not Pawn Stars reruns? Of course you would.

If you really want to know: Whom did he vote for in the last presidential election?

Then ask him: “Do you prefer simplicity or complexity?”

Here’s why: Sure, you could broach politics on the first date, but if you’d rather not, this vague philosophical question will tell you where he stands. Statistically, if he answers “simplicity,” odds are 2 to 1 that he’s politically conservative. If he answers “complexity,” it’s 2 to 1 that he’s liberal.

Our set of political questions is particularly deep, so country-wide, we’re confident about the accuracy of this litmus test. But if one ideology predominates where you live, this question isn’t as predictive.

If you really want to know: Does he ever want kids?

Then ask him: “At the movies, do you leave before the credits are finished?” or “Do you believe in miracles?”

Here’s why: A remarkable 82 percent of people who leave before the movie credits are looking to start a family—while the average among all people on our site is only 38 percent. And not a single baby-wanting user in our data set always stays for the credits. This correlation is very weird, and we have no idea what’s behind it except that maybe people who want kids soon just can’t wait to get out of the theater to start trying. As for the “miracles” question, if he says yes, he’s 1.5 times as likely to eventually want kids. Birth itself is a miracle, of course, and so is a great first date.

Original Story