Date While You Wait: Helping Commuters in Rush Hour

Is there anyone out there who seriously enjoys the rush and tedium of the daily commute? Especially somewhere like New York, where time is money and things rarely stand still. Enter: Thomas Knox. Thomas is trying to bring fun to commuters in Manhattan with his pop-up initiative Date While You Wait. It's probably exactly as you imagine: Thomas say on a fold-up chair, at a fold-up table, graced with a single flower in a coke bottle. The sign reads "Date while you wait" and is covered in hearts. But also on the table is a game of Connect Four, ready to go, and even though Thomas is single, he isn't there to look for love. He simply wants to save commuters from the daily grind bringing them down. "I wanted to do something positive," he said. "So I was like, 'You know what? I'm just going to set up a table, and you know, sit down, and have a conversation with people.'" Thomas aims to be sat at his fold-out table at least once a week. When he sets up, it's at a secret location at one of the Manhattan subway stations that only becomes known to the public when he announces it on Twitter. With two photographers in tow, Thomas documents his "dates" on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And if you're one of the lucky ones to get a seat at Thomas' table, he wants you to talk about yourself and your day. It's just the kind of small talk you might expect from a random first date on a subway platform. They're then invited to share their experience over social media with the hashtag #DateWhileYouWait. Word of Thomas' project is spreading at an impressive rate, and the term "gone viral" has been bandied about. On his Facebook page, Thomas has even been able to state that one of his many highlights was having a "date" with Howard Wexler, who actually created Connect Four. The initiative has become so popular that Thomas announce a tour of subway stations in five New York boroughs, which he kicked off only a couple of days ago. This means that commuters in Brooklyn, the Bronx, New York City, Queens, and Staten Island will all get the chance to while away their time on their platform. The idea is obviously a fun and unique one, with worldwide coverage. It's become so popular that Thomas has been invited to set up Date While You Wait booths in other parts of the US, Canada, and even as far as the UK. After a long, busy day, and in the middle of rush hour, if something can make you smile, your whole day can turn around. And that's what Thomas' plan is. "Everyone kept asking me if I was doing it for money or looking for love," Thomas said on the project's Facebook page. "Not at all. I just wanted to do something that would bring smiles to people's faces and enjoy the moment."