This article totally creeped me out. Yuck!
I am very old fashioned perhaps, but I waited until we were engaged before I looked into my now-husband's refrigerator. What I saw was shocking. All it contained was a half-glass of sour milk. By this time he had been to my place many times, and I had cooked him lots of dinners. Apparently he liked my cooking. We've been married 40 years.
One does not store wine in a refrigerator.
This is capitalism at its finest. Yet another way to make people feel that their money and social status determine their worth and desirability.
Correlation is not causation; enough with the punchy statements that imply that a full refrigerator (and all that weakly suggests) is the strongest indicator of a successful relationship.
Do better, NYT.
7
"The app works with Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerator, which sells for around $3,000"
More than I paid for my car...
2
Considering how many single people have roommates, this app seems especially pointless. My shelf in the fridge has homemade leftovers, the veggies in the crisper, the condiments, and most of the dairy are mine too. My roommate’s the one with the aging takeout.
That said, if you can afford a $3000 fridge and would like to fill a kitchen with similarly expensive appliances and quartz countertops, please get in touch. :)
3
Next up, an app showing the contents of your medicine cabinet.
8
I enjoyed your article until; you went and dissed meatloaf.
9
Who cares what's inside a $3000 fridge. Just knowing that they can afford one tells me they're the one for me. Fully capable of supporting the lifestyle that I've always dreamed of.
4
Anyone who uses this app deserves to be eating 3 day-old take out at home by themselves on a Saturday night.
9
I'm pretty sure there's something in the Constitution protecting prospective dates from this. I sincerely doubt Benjamin Franklin peaked into Deborah Read's icebox before they became a couple.
9
This article left me cold.
16
Data extraction and retention. You make no decisions with out 'their' intervention.
Behavior is controlled. Enjoy it while you last. THX1138 meets 1984 meets
5
Technology progresses forward but is it beneficial or detrimental? A potential suitor can peek inside one's fridge to determine their date's financial status. Samsung has reached the pinnacle of improvising intrusive methods to allow spying on smart phones, smart TV's and gadgets that control, listen and record what goes on in our homes, now they're focused on revealing the contents of one's fridge to decide whether or not one is worthy of a second date. How many morons did it take to dream this one up?
4
This is kind of creepy.
5
The sheer idiocy of this idea cannot be overstated. If you are privileged enough to own an expensive fridge, and vapid enough to use an app to compare the content of yours with someone else's, may I suggest you take a hard look at your life - perhaps join the Peace Corp, or sell all your possesions and move to a Buddhist retreat.
28
wow. creepy.
I thought stalking was a no no
10
Maybe I'll get even more dates, by being the guy who has the technical skills to hack the refrigerator and turn off Wall Street's thumb in the wrong place.
Or perhaps you'd prefer the appliance to report kale and artichokes galore, when in fact when in fact it's full of Busch Beer and stale Twinkies.
If you are crazy enough to buy one of those abominations, get in touch with me via the New York Times...
4
A Refrigerdating app? Seriously? Count me out forever - along with the soon-to-be-developed Bathroomdating app, Closetdating app, and Garagedating app.
5
Seriously? This is what app developers are doing? Can they not find an actual need or problem to address?
2
Back when I was a lad, you looked at your date's bookcase, and record collection. Now the Kindle forces you look at their condiments--that's not progress.
19
I and my fiancé have been together 4 years. I was always preparing a meal on weekends. I have to admit her fridge contents where minimal humus, celery, cranberry and veggies and fruits, and proteins for a Viti-Mix morning mixture. I love meats and love to cook. We are ‘foodies’ .
I actually proposed to her in the parking lot of a small town country store where we would go every month or so for the Meats, vegetables and plants.
We have made some great dishes. This Valentine’s Day she got me a ice cream maker....
Last weekend was fried pork Tenderloin and Hasselback Potatoes. This weekend it’s ..... Bangers (from Ireland)and Mash.
Cook together, stay together.
People who hook up their lives to the internet have lost their cork, and if checking a dates refrigerator are almost without hope of redemption.
9
Here - let save you the trouble --
Pizza
Diet Coke
Ice Cream
There - wasn't that easy -- ?
Oh - and please don't bother texting - I'm already happily married ...
7
this is so depressing. have we really gotten here?
6
If we are to judge our potential mates by the contents of their refrigerators, we are truly doomed as a species.
4
The whole thing is silly. We are living in a world becoming more and more superficial, concerned about things that just don't matter. Insane!
7
Knowing how they paid for the $ 3000 refrigerator may give more useful information.
16
Who would have thought that the end of privacy could be so much fun?
9
I'm going out and buying nothing but artichokes, eggplant, grapefruit juice and apple cider vinegar.
7
Years ago a man opened my refrigerator, surprising me because no one else had ever done that. We went out to eat, and I never heard from him again. Very glad it wasn't my looks or my conversation, just my personality and character that was lacking.
6
This refrigerator thing is so totally last year.
In my apartment, I have software that allows me to look in my prospective dates' homes to see if they use recycled toilet paper or just plain extra-fluffy with a floral scent. Incredibly important when sussing out who I want to have an awkward dinner with.
Same for paper towels: the brown kind, or printed with little flowers?
Tissues with moisturizer, or those little cube boxes?
Mint flavored floss, or original narrow for tightly spaced teeth?
Gel or extra whitening toothpaste. Sometimes a dealbreaker, as we all know. Not just about putting the cap back on, and you know who I mean.
My health plan now has an app that lets me share my cholesterol levels and colonoscopy pics with anyone who finds my face pic attractive online. I'm having a difficult time coordinating it with my social media feeds, however.
SO grateful for all this new technology.
46
Michael,
Much more important, does the prospective object of your attention and affection mount the toilet paper so that the sheets roll over the top or underneath the roll.
9
@wbj depends on whether or not there are cats in the home
1
Wishing I had the last few minutes of my life back, after reading this article.
46
@Toh14m Do you need me for news coaching? I read the first three paragraphs and figured that was all I needed to know.
Although both of us are guilty for clicking on the headline in the first place.
2
Toh,
That's how I feel about Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore.
1
"Report: US 2018 CO2 emissions saw biggest spike in years." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46801108
"Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions," https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions. "Electricity production generates the second largest share of greenhouse gas emissions."
I'm trying to cut my carbon footprint as much as possible.
While these consumer addicts are utterly insensate.
And the Times provides free advertising.
9
@IRememberAmerica Every state ought to have at least several natural gas plants and two or three coal plants, maybe also some wood burning plants. It should be the American Way.
Oh this is just too funny! :)
But seriously, "risk takers tend to like spicy foods"? Hmm... I wonder if that study took into account regional variations in tastes; I mean I've had Thai dishes (in Thailand) that have sent me to the hospital (no kidding! And I'm Korean!) and Japanese dishes that are just so sublime. Then again, Korean dishes are notably spicy too and I know a lot of Korean risk-takers :)
I'm wondering if Samsung is aware that there are many bachelors who would really REALLY not want the contents of their fridge to be publicly viewable! When I was a bachelor it was either so pathetically empty or had expired food that would require a hazmat team to safely remove it. So that would cut down their potential market.
On the other hand, I can see how many mothers would want to make sure that their offspring are still eating well no matter where they live. :)
Anyone whose read "Homo Deus" will probably be aware of the author's concern that growing automation will eliminate many jobs. Well here's a new one has opened up: refrigerator food stylist.
I wonder what's next? Washing machines? Toilets?
5
Being at the store and wondering if you're out of milk? So twentieth century! These days my house robot inspects my fridge and makes a grocery list, and my drone delivers. Which leaves me free to, ah... uh...
13
I’ll stick to perusing the books on their bookshelves, thank you.
34
Always wonder about the people who don’t have books too!
2
Ha! You think people actually have bookshelves with books that they read on them anymore? The wealthy buy books by the yard for appearance sakes, ask any interior decorator.
I haven’t read a actual paper book in years except for two by a author so obscure that they only way to read him was by buying the physical paper books. I enjoyed them, it was worth the wood, and I passed them to my brother who in turn gave them away, somewhat lessening my carbon footprint, I hope.
How creepy. Is an app to check medicine cabinets coming next?
20
Just more intrusion for its own sake, not progress. Simply because something can be done does not mean it should. We do not need refrigerators connected to the internet. What's the point, so Russian hackers can shut down our refrigerators?
19
It seem far more reasonable to hire a private detective, because what if your prospective partner is a fridge fraud and has stocked their fridge with items meant to deceive? Also hacking all their accounts makes sense too, because actually getting to know someone and relying on your instincts is old hat.
11
I eat a lot of meat.
10 minutes after we met, she told me she was vegetarian.
I slipped with an “Oh, that’s bad.”
We’re married 19 years.
I still eat a lot of meat. She is still vegetarian.
Good thing our matchmaking site was in the mail, and not by refrigerator!
18
Does this new fad remind me of the the theory of the four humours from the time of Shakespeare - bile, that is the one I remember the most. I say, ‘Hog wash.’ Yes, I would want to know if the fridge is clean, maybe. But that is the least important way to find out about a potential date.
3
It must surely make the list of the most useless apps .
9
I do sometimes wish I was single in my twenties again, but not when I read articles like these.
22
worth mentioning is that samsung should concentrate on making refrigerators that function, rather than on matchmaking. any model they make that has french doors, a bottom freezer and through-door ice maker is a known lemon, with thousands of duped owners, including myself, stuck with giant, expensive appliances that samsung thus far refuses to acknowledge are faulty, even while still under warranty. there's even a class action suit due to the vastness of the issues.
14
@robert connelly
I was just thinking about that. I just posted about me and my foodie fiancé......
6 months ago, we purchase the Samsung with the French doors and the ice maker in the Top. Sure enough, three weeks ago the icemaker stopped working. Of course they are so good at repairing these that the parts were shipped prior to the tech arriving. I called Samsung to record the issue and communicated to them that they should not be selling this product. The NYT need to write an article on this.
1
@Henry My Samsung refrigerator works beautifully.
1
I often go to clients homes and ,after asking permission to go into their fridge for some water, it’s fun and very eye opening to see what they have or don’t have in the fridge.
No ice
No fresh veggies or fruit
Just Containers of take out
I could do a profile of each of them by what they stock in the fridge. I wouldn’t date any of them.
1
@Peggy Herron
My fridge is mostly boxes on take out from Whole Foods' salad bar. In my boxes, there's lots of kale, beats, squash, and cauliflower, but it's all in take-out boxes.
I have oatmeal for breakfast, Whole Foods salad bar or take-out sushi for lunch, and then go out for diner (steak, salmon, shrimp, etc.). Most of my snack food is greek yogurt or keifer. I never cook at home. I just go out for dinner or order sushi.
3
Is today April Fools' Day?
Also:
"The study tracked 43,685 women, ages 50 to 77, and found that those who rarely consumed wine, coffee, olive oil and vegetables and who regularly drank sodas and ate red meat or refined grains were 29 to 41 percent more likely to be depressed than those who followed a more healthful diet."
I disagree with the conclusion to blame an unhealthful diet. The study participants were depressed because they didn't consume enough wine. It really helps.
23
Re is it April Fools’ Day — my exact thought! This would be hilarious as satire; but as real life it is a new low.
Still hoping it is just a good hoax, tbh
1
@John
Many people on anti-depressants don't drink alcohol, because they're not supposed to mix it with their medication. Therefore, not having alcohol might serve as a sign/signifier that the person is on an anti-depressant, which would indicate depression.
1
Also, people who are depressed sometimes self-medicate with alcohol, and workaholics (who can be unhappy and depressed) often drinks large amounts of coffee.
3
You can also simply open the refrigerator door to see if you're out of milk. This works for refrigerators costing less than $3000.
85
So true ... this article is hilarious ! Thank you for my morning laugh! I’ll stick with just opening the refrigerator door to know when I’m eating well or feeling depressed ..today my refrigerator is telling me I’m pretty happy but need to throw out that take out I brought home last weekend :)
13
@Paducah, or do what I do if I'm uncertain: I just buy a small container of milk. If I'm out of milk, I have enough for a few days of coffee: if I still have milk, the small bottle doesn't take up much room, and with a 17 year old lacrosse player in the house, it'll go quickly enough. Seems more sensible than a $3,000 refrigerator wired to the internet.
9
But there's an app for that!
1