Yahoo! News reports a popular new service from Cingular Wireless and Virgin Mobile USA—fake "rescue" calls to help you get out of a bad date.

How does it work? Customers arrange to be called at a set time (apparently the peak time for bad dates in New York City is Friday at 8 p.m.—that's when most calls are requested). When your cell phone rings, you'll hear an excuse to repeat before dropping the dud of a date, like: "Hey this is your Escape-a-Date call. If you're looking for an excuse, I got it. Just repeat after me and you'll be on your way! 'Not again! Why does this always happen to you?... Alright, I'll be right there.' Now tell 'em that your roommate got locked out, and you have to go let them in. Good luck!"

Bingo, the date (and your character!) is history. How popular is this "dial-a-lie" service? Over 10,000 calls a month are being logged by Cingular and Virgin Mobile customers. That's a lot of bad dates!

Want to keep your character intact and avoid nightmare dates? Dating questions are among the most common questions asked by readers of Vertical Thought. Date wisely! Check out the Q&A section at the VerticalThought.org Web site for some balanced advice. And while you're there, you might want to check out the archived January-March 2004 issue for feature articles on dating.