With great boredom, sometimes come great ideas — especially when it comes to dating experiments.

Aline Cunia, an 18 year old freshman at SUNY Oswego University, had a lamp she wanted to sell. She was at her cousin’s house when she decided in a moment of boredom to make a Tinder account for said lamp.

She created an account for “Lamp” age 25, and wrote in her profile “not looking for hookups, just to sell my lamp. Serious inquiries only.” Much to her surprise, she received a whole slew of responses from men — some creepy, some hilarious and others somewhere in between.

Later she tweeted, “I made a Tinder to sell my lamp and got so many matches and messages that it it crashed my phone and sent it into a crash loop. It’s cool though, I sold it.” She posted screenshots of some of the messages which naturally went viral.

So, what can we learn from Aline’s experience? Well, quite a lot really.

1. Thinking outside of the box works.

While I don’t necessarily suggest you try and sell your couch as a way of meeting people through dating apps, if Aline’s (and other similar) experiment(s) have taught us anything, it’s that sometimes the best way to grab people’s attention is by thinking outside of the box — even if it seems a bit crazy. Out of the box thinkers like Aline come across as confident and adventurous – both admirable qualities in a partner. Whether it’s posting a really outlandish photo/bio or embarking on an experiment of your own (for example, vowing to message a new person everyday for 30 days), it might be worth it to try something completely and totally different.

2. Some people can’t resist a good pun.

Like this guy, “Mike” who wanted to know whether the lamp was “hot.” (I’m honestly surprised he didn’t lead with “watts up”?)

 

This is all to say that there’s something about online dating that is synonymous with rampant pun usage. A little smart wordplay goes a long way — even for guys like Mike who seemingly don’t own a shirt or pants.

3. Even lamps have to deal with guys like this.

You know — the ones like “Carloss” who mention in their first message “how rich they are” subtly suggesting that the pleasure would be all yours if you chose to spend your time with them. Ugh. Apparently, even if you’re three feet tall and have a really nice rose-hued shade, you’re not immune this kind of online dating malarkey. I’m sorry Carloss, but I think the “loss” is yours.

4. Not everyone is looking for something serious.

As Aline discovered, not every inquiry is a serious one. The same can be said about dating. Just because someone messages you, doesn’t mean they necessarily want the same things as you (i.e. a serious relationship or lamp sale). Some people just want to chat (cough, cough, waste your time) and others are only looking to hook-up — even if you mentioned exactly what you are looking for. Actions always speak louder than words, so if someone is interested, they’ll show their intentions by contacting you and asking you out and showing up.

5. Even lamps get ghosted on every now and then.

Yes, that’s right. Even lamps fall victim to ghosting. A match named Joseph seemed like a good candidate as the new owner of Aline’s lamp, until he ghosted her.

As she told Mashable, “The closest I came was with a man who offered $120, but he wanted to meet in person. I didn’t necessarily want to do that since he only had one photo of himself and it was poor quality (usually a sign of a catfish or someone sketchy) so I declined. I gave him my Venmo and told him if he sent me a shipping address, I would send it there and guaranteed a refund if he did not receive it within 10 business days. However, I never received the money and he’s ghosted since my decline to meet in person.”

6. Striking out? Something better will be along soon.

It’s actually a good thing that Joseph ghosted because after a chat with her grandmother, Aline learned that the antique lamp could be worth a lot more. This is all to say that if something doesn’t work out, it’s usually a sign that the universe has something better in store for you. Hold on and be patient. The right person/buyer is out there!