When New York–based designers and long-time friends Timothy Goodman and Jessica Walsh found themselves single at the same time, they decided to try an experiment. The old adage says that it takes 40 days to create a habit—could it create love? They agreed; they would date each other for 40 days, record their experience in questionnaires, photographs, videos, texts and artworks and post them on their website: fortydaysofdating.com. They set up 10 ground rules including, “We will see each other every day for forty days,” “We will go on one weekend trip together,” and “We will not see, date, hookup, or have sex with anyone else.” What began as a small experiment between two friends became an Internet sensation, addicting 2 million unique visitors from around the globe to their site and their story. 40 Days of Dating: The Book is a beautifully designed, expanded look at the experiment and the results, composed of texts, conversations, artwork, photographs and details of the romance before, during and after the experiment, including material that never made it onto the site.
