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To this day, when we talk about romance and beautiful, sublime love, we often remember the Renaissance, gallant chevaliers, ready to cross swords for the honor of the Beautiful Lady, performing serenades under the balcony of the mistress of their heart...

Stop! Stop, stop stop! So we really think that putting a foot of iron into another person's belly just to impress our crush is that damn romantic? Or throwing stones at the windows of a sleeping girl so that she, sleep-deprived and angry, will listen to us in a bad voice yelling a poorly rhymed song about unearthly love - is that beautiful? It turns out, as this viral thread in the AskReddit community confirms, there are lots of outdated “romantic” techniques.

More info: Reddit

#1

34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Courtship that relies on being overly persistent. 


It used to be cute to hear stories of "When I first met her she wanted nothing to do with me. I showed up to her job with flowers every day until she said yes and we eventually fell in love!" ❤️ 


Nowadays, that's just straight up harassment.

_forum_mod , Vija Rindo Pratama Report

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LizzieBoredom
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As my Grandmama Wilkerson used to say (after she'd had a slug of hooch) "Don't come a knockin' if you be a stalkin'".

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    #2

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Semi-related.

    I went out with a girl, and I would get out and open the door for her when we went out in my car. After about the second day, she complimented me on being such a gentleman and that no one has done that for her.

    I laughed, then I told her I forgot to tell her the inside door handle on the passenger side car was broken, so that's the only way to open the door.

    Well, anyway, it worked I guess. I've been married to her for 12 years and she's the mother of my two kids.

    SomeGuyInSanJoseCa , Сергей Тарасов Report

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    #3

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Asking a grown woman’s father for her hand in marriage.

    AlynConrad , Hebert Santos Report

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    Jorie
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My second husband asked my grown son for my hand in marriage. My son replied that he better take the rest of me, too. No joke.

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    Okay, let's remember one of the most romantic stories of the Middle Ages about the unearthly and unrequited love of the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri for the young and beautiful Beatrice, to whom he dedicated many sonnets and poems. Now let's get a little dry reality: Dante was 19 years old when he first saw 8-year-old Beatrice, but many years later she married another man.

    Dante's great and unrequited feeling did not prevent him from marrying another woman, who bore him three kids. However, in none - you hear, in none of his works does Dante mention the name of his wife Gemma, while Beatrice, who by that time had already passed away (yes, mortality was sky-high in the insanely romantic Middle Ages), remained on the pages of his poems until the last years of his life.

    #4

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Hitting a girl's head with a club and dragging her to your cave.

    Tenoquendil , Boomerang Official Report

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    #6

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Having obey in the wedding vows.

    suziespends , Emma Bauso Report

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    Cosmikid
    Community Member
    7 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's been tossed out by many for the past 100 years at least. yeah, by me, twice.

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    Now we'll have a time skip and go to not so long ago - about forty or thirty years. How many times have we been presented with some story as proof of incredible love about how a guy was rejected by a girl more than once or twice, but continued to literally pursue her - until he finally achieved reciprocity? Or about how a lover secretly found out the place of work of the subject of his passion in order to regularly get in their way... Now this sounds a bit creepy, doesn’t it?

    #7

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Forcing a kiss because you just can't resist him/her.

    SweetPsycho2024 , Vera Arsic Report

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    Knitting Panda
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's just scary. A boy did that to me on the beach in Mexico when I was 16. Eww.

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    #8

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online When my dad started pursuing my mom at the college that they met at, he went to the records office and got her schedule (apparently anyone could do that at the time) and waited outside of each of her classrooms to walk her to her next class. He did this for like a week. She thought it was both slightly annoying and romantic.

    inflammable , Hoàng Tiến Việt Report

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    #9

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online The entirety of the movie "The Notebook" 🤷‍♂️ just in how he gets his first date at the start of it " Go out with me or I'll lay in traffic until I die" it all goes downhill from there.

    Analytically_Damaged , Movieclips Report

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    LizzieBoredom
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If I found Ryan Gosling lying dead in the road, I would put him in my car so I could use the carpool lane.

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    “Of course, each time has its own viewpoints, and what was completely acceptable a couple of centuries or even a couple of decades ago, today we consider absolutely strange or even creepy,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. “The evolution of our views is no less impressive than technological progress.”

    “We shouldn't forget that morality in the old days was completely different and, for example, any European noblewoman of the Renaissance would have ceased to respect herself if she hadn't had a couple of no less noble admirers who would have fought a duel for her attention. This was the unspoken etiquette of that time. Today it seems strange to us, but... well, maybe in a hundred years our habit of sticking to TikTok will look just as weird..." Irina presumes.

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    #10

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online I was led by old films to believe that romance would involve a lot more slapping men in the face and throwing drinks at them than it actually does.

    ghostintheshello , movie-screencaps Report

    #11

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Knowing them since they were a kid but you weren’t, like my grandad met my nan when she was 13 and he was 20, they waited til she was old enough but that’s still gross to me, like you’re just sat waiting for the child you love to be legal.

    CosyBosyCrochet , pham manh Report

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    Donteatme666
    Community Member
    7 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Honestly if they'ved been happily married for however long who are we to judge as long as they are both happy 😁. And no laws were violated before hand I personally say mind your own f****n g business . You people really need to ask your parents or grandparents when they got married I think you'd be surprised 🤯 also my parents have a age difference they've been happily married for 35 years so yes s**t happens sometimes and we honestly don't know the circumstances sometimes that's all I was trying to say but to be perfectly honest I don't give a c**p what people think of me either way 🙂

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    #12

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Ordering for your date is not romantic in any way, but used to be considered such. .

    xoLiLyPaDxo , cottonbro studio Report

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    Coffee
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Na. Disagree with this one. It differs from couple to couple. When I moved to the US, I would get anxious my the number of choices on the menu especially not knowing what they tasted like. I trusted my boyfriend to always order for me for a long time.

    Marnie
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    But they are talking about just commonplace gestures that used to be considered romantic. (I am not sure that it ever was commonplace.) What you are talking about is just a different situation where your boyfriend helped you out due to a language difficulty. That's not what they are talking about here.

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    Mimi M
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Difference between ordering and choosing. And in any case, both rely on consent.

    Lemaire
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think the issue is insisting on ordering for your partner. My wife likes me to order for her--she tells me what she wants, then I order. She is also an immigrant, but it's not just language. She gets mad if I don't opent the door for her, too. I'm a West coast progressive liberal who believes in equal rights and that sexual equality is still a ways off, etc.. So, her somewhat conservative stance on marriage threw me off at first. But, I adapted and she seems happy.

    Rosemary .
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I like my husband to order for me. I tell him basically what I want, and he picks the dish he knows I'll like. It's partly because I can never read the tiny print on the menu and I'm too lazy to dig around in my purse for readers, and partly because he was an executive chef so he knows whether I'll like a particular dish or cut of meat or not.

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    David Hale
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I order for my wife after she tells me what she wants. She prefers it.

    CK
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Doing it without asking or having any indication that they want you to is obnoxious. It's a nice gesture if you know they'll appreciate it.

    D W
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It was never romantic, it was always a power move to try and be flashy but was always cringy

    Adrian
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Depends on the person. I went on a date with a Hungarian girl once and she insisted I order for her. It may be cultural.

    sweetrottenpeaches
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It depends on where you are dining at. Etiquette says the man should order. I might be wrong so please feel free to correct me.

    iBlank
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    it's only romantic if you pay attention to what your partner is interested in and can make choices that are meaningful to them. Even then it's not for everyone and you should back off if it's not their thing. For example, my partner and I like to do it for each other when we know the other has had a long day and tired of making decisions.

    Craig Reynolds
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's not always about romance. It depends on the circumstances. My wife is Asian, so if we go to an American restaurant I choose what I think she will like because she doesn't know. If we go to a restaurant of her ethnicity, I rely on her to choose for me.

    Just stopping by
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah no. My husband and I do this for each other from time to time if we've already talked about it and one of us is just more ready to speak than the other. It's really not that serious

    Marnie
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Now, this one was in movies that were old when I was young. But I never once heard of anyone doing it in real life. I therefore neither believed nor disbelieved that it was ever commonplace. I suspended judgement. Was it ever commonplace?

    Cosmikid
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    yes, it was, around 1950 or so. By 1960- many women would not approve, and would tell you. The trick for the man- find out what the woman prefers- and go with it!

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    Blue Bunny of Happiness
    Community Member
    7 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I’d go with it being the majority. I certainly don’t know any women who would appreciate a man ordering for her.

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    Well, if you somehow find yourself in any of the stories presented in this list, you shouldn’t do an instant facepalm. In any case, critical thinking and a sense of humor will allow you to distinguish what's truly romantic from what only seems so. And now, our dear readers, please feel free to scroll this list to the very end and, who knows, maybe add your own ideas and tales in the comments below.

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    #13

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online My paternal grandparents were Italian immigrants coming separately through Ellis Island as kids around 1910. They settled in an Italian community near Philadelphia. As family lore has it, my grandfather "kidnapped" my grandmother and kept her out over night. After that, they had to get married.

    Satchi777 , lil artsy Report

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    FluffyDreg
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I... I'm sorry but I do want to hear from grandma. Did he kidnap her or was that just an excuse so she could stay out with him? If he dud it's f***d but idk something about how it's written gives Mr the inpression it's one of those "girl wants to say yes but doesn't want to get shamed so says she was forced" I might be very wrong

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    #14

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Being announced at a wedding as Mr. and Mrs. John Smith. That used to be a thing and I always cringed because it felt like the bride was completely giving up her identity.

    Also, a woman sitting in the car after you park waiting for you to walk around and open her door.

    musing_codger , Asad Photo Maldives Report

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    Ripley
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Also - man and wife. He has an identity as a man, and she is just an adjunct.

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    #16

    My dad went on three dates with my mom during basic training. Then proposed to her over the phone from Germany. Flew back to TX, got married, and took her to Germany (she'd never left south TX before). 63 years and still going.

    Brian_Corey__ Report

    #17

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online A duel to the death to "win" a woman.

    SocksOnHands , Daisa TJ Report

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    Blue Bunny of Happiness
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If only there had been another option they could have chosen…like maybe the woman decides if she wants either of them. Don’t mind me, just a woman having stupid thoughts! #sarcasm

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    #18

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online The Japanese old way of proposing which basically translates to, “Will you make me miso soup every morning, fore the rest of our lives?”.

    Annacot_Steal , Amar Preciado Report

    #19

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Picking a fight with the man she is dating.

    IfICouldStay , Pixabay Report

    #20

    A matador fighting a bull, killing it, cutting it's ear off, and then presenting it (or a bloody handkerchief) to a woman.

    There was a story we used to have to read in school that included a matador fight and this happened. Most of the girls just cried the bull [died].

    Clever_Mercury Report

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    Natasha Arruda
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The way they treat bulls in a fight is so crappy, I'd cry over the animal as well. Unless the guy is being jabbed repeatedly with spears too, it's not a fair fight.

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    #21

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Sending unsolicited love letters or showing up unannounced at someone's home

    However, in today's society, these actions could be perceived as intrusive or even creepy.

    legend0920 , Ron Lach Report

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    Marnie
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Finally one I can agree with. Because people used to ACTUALLY do this. Both men and women might write an unsolicited love letter (especially teenagers), and people just did show up unannounced at other people's homes (whether they were a romantic interest, friend, or family - people often used to do that).

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    #22

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Throwing rocks at someone's window to sing to them in the middle of the night.

    Appropriate_Ask_462 , RDNE Stock project Report

    #23

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Giving her father 4 horses and a mule for her.

    Chance_Cheetah_7678 , Annika Treial Report

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    Natasha Arruda
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I mean if someone offered ME 4 horses and a mule I'd probably say yes, but I'd be upset if they gave them to my parent.

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    #24

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Holding up a boom box outside her bedroom window blasting "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel.

    EerieArizona , Movieclips Report

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    pinkpie
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Stalking is despicable. Forceful romantic attention is unacceptable. In the film “Say Anything” the mains fall in love and she breaks up with him solely due to her emotional turmoil due to her complex relationship with her father (which is the main plot of the movie btw - it is not a romance). They are both incredibly unhappy. He tries to contact her, and a last ditch effort plays their song outside her house as a reminder that their relationship is too precious to be swept aside in a crisis. At no point does he stalk her in this film. I will die on this hill. Thank you.

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    #25

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online My dad followed my mom across the country. She was doing an internship where he worked and when it was over she had to go back home to Texas. They weren’t dating or anything, she had a boyfriend at the time. But my dad said he couldn’t let her get away so he jumped in his s****y car and drove to Texas.

    masegesege , Dmitriy Ganin Report

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    #26

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Breaking into a womans home and leaving her a box of Milk Tray.

    LithiuMart , Budgeron Bach Report

    #27

    Unaliving yourself over a romantic heartbreak.

    Ok-Dependent7444 Report

    #28

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Getting married after 3 months of knowing each other.

    dropofred , Pavel Danilyuk Report

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    RagDollLali
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My husband and I got engaged after 3 months of dating, married 7 months later. It will be our 8th anniversary this July and still going strong. My parents got married in Vegas after 3 months dating, together 44 years and they're still in love and each other's best friends. What works for some may not work for others, but it's nobody's place to judge other people for when and how they decide their relationship should move forward.

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    #29

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Intentionally dropping a handkerchief and then someone running up to pick it up and return it to the owner.  That was still a thing when I was a child.

    Plain_Chacalaca , Michael Coghlan Report

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    TheElderNom
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I saw a girl try that with her keys in middle school, the guy didn't get it at all (or he was not interested and great at acting) and it was so very cringy. I still get second hand embarrassment just thinking about it.

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    #30

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Sending your hair to someone in the mail.

    BrentHamp , Skitterphoto Report

    #31

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online My dad tried to hit on my mom by asking her a mussel recipe (which in french is very disturbing because mussel/moule is one way of saying vagina). Never understood how they went to have 3 children together.

    HsJohnson88 , Julia Khalimova Report

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    #32

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Putting my jacket down over a puddle.

    Moondoobious , Дионис Сердюков Report

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    Firstname Lastname
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If your jacket is wet, how am I supposed to put it on later and claim it as my own? Besides, getting lifted over the puddle is far more entertaining to me.

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    #33

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Having huge tracts of land.

    calamitouscamembert , Mikhail Nilov Report

    #34

    34 Behaviors That Creep People Out Now But Once Were Considered Romantic, As Pointed Out Online Leaving an offering of purified water and honey outside your cottage on the Vernal equinox.

    tenehemia , ROMAN ODINTSOV Report

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    FluffyDreg
    Community Member
    7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Whats up with this? Is this romantic???? It sounds more like some kind of cultural ritual?

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