Here's the real reason why everyone lied about their birthday on Ashley Madison
You know when you're filling out a dating profile and it asks for your birthday and the default is January 1, so you just say, "whatever, could be true," and click "next"? Well, turns out you're not alone.
In fact, one in every 12 users of the affair website Ashley Madison said they were born on New Year's Day, The Washington Post reports, crunching numbers made public by hackers last Tuesday. And because there are 36 million registered users on the site, that means a whole three million people were claiming they were born January 1 — a statistic that is highly unlikely to be true.
Most people were probably just too lazy to change the month and date, and just changed the year when asked for their birth date, the Post surmises. Furthermore, users who did take the time to change the month and day often picked the same number for each — February 2, March 3, April 4, and so on. "After all, it's as easy as hitting 6-tab-6 on most computers," the Post adds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Another popular alleged birth date users chose was February 14 — Valentine's Day. A whole 124,000 lovesick romantics looking for an affair registered as having been born on that day.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
The Week's big New Year's Day quiz
Puzzles How much do you remember about 2024's headlines? Put yourself to the test with our giant quiz
By The Week UK Published
-
Holidays in the winter snow
The Week Recommends Sample winter sports in less-obvious locations
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: January 1, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published