I think that we all hope to find the perfect person to spend our lives with.
If you're lucky enough to find that person early on, like the couple that died hours apart after 70 years of marriage, that relationship can be a tremendous source of comfort and happiness.
However, as most of us know all too well, before you find Prince Charming, you usually have to kiss a few frogs. We've all been on a bad date (or twenty) in our time, in pursuit of a "happily ever after."
Usually, there's no harm in a bad date where you simply don't click. Every now and then, however, a bad date can turn into a truly scary encounter, especially if your date isn't willing to take "no" for an answer.
Enter "Ask For Angela:" This pioneering new initiative dreamed up by the local government in Lincolnshire, U.K., is designed to help folks in bad situations make safe and speedy retreats, all by simply asking for Angela.
Scroll through below to learn more about how this brilliant campaign works.
The "Ask for Angela" campaign started as a small local initiative in Lincolnshire, a northern corner of the United Kingdom.
However, it quickly swept to viral prominence after a young local woman, Isobel O'Brien, spotted a poster for the program in the ladies' room of a bar.
She was so impressed with the message of the poster that she tweeted it, and the photo quickly racked up 38,000 likes and more than 30,000 retweets.
The words that impressed O'Brien and her Twitter followers are genius in their simple message.
The poster reads:
"Hi, I'm Angela.
"Are you on a date that isn't working out? Is your Tinder or POF [Plenty Of Fish] date not who they said they were on their profile?
"Do you feel like you're not in a safe situation? Does it all feel a bit weird?"
The poster continues:
"If you go to the bar and ask for 'Angela' the bar staff will know you need some help getting out of your situation and will call you a taxi or help you out discreetly — without too much fuss."
The poster is part of a larger ongoing campaign called #NoMore.
According to the Lincolnshire government website, the campaign "aims to change the culture around sexual violence and abuse, empower victims to make a decision on whether to report sexual violence, and promote the support services available in the county."
In September and October, the local government pushed to publicize the message, which also included fill-in-the-blank posters.
People on social media could add their own message and send it out to followers, like "#NoMore But he's usually such a nice guy," pictured above.
Women all over the world have always come up with creative solutions to the problem of harassment.
Witness the 16-year-old above. When a classmate got hold of her phone number and asked for a picture of her in the shower, she had a pretty darn hilarious response.
But funny as her photo was, most harassers and bad dates aren't going to be put off easily: we all know how dangerous these things can be when they escalate.
Lincolnshire is stepping up in a big way to give women a safe 'out' from these scary situations before they turn dangerous.
As for Isobel O'Brien, who first posted the photo of "Ask For Angela," she thinks the idea is brilliant and needs to spread worldwide.
She writes on Twitter, "I saw this in a toilet, and thought it was important and should be a thing everywhere not just Lincolnshire!!!"
Do you agree? Please SHARE the "Ask For Angela" campaign with every woman you know!
