Asking a stranger for their number can actually work sometimes.
Consider Edward Headley, a British prankster who specializes in social experiments and awkward interactions. He hit the streets of London and asked 100 male strangers for their phone numbers for a segment uploaded to a YouTube channel called Twattery. Most of the men were incredulous or downright shocked by Headley's request, with many asking, "Are you serious?"
"The responses I got were mostly as I expected they would be coming from a liberal U.K. society -- lots of bewilderment, laughter, some indifference and some relatively hostile responses," Headley wrote in an email to The Huffington Post.
There were some positive responses, though, even from some men who weren't willing to offer up their digits.
"Having done the same experiment to girls, my success rate with guys was more than 100 percent greater, which says a lot about gender expectations and the cultural conditioning we are exposed to," Headley said.
In the end, he went home with 13 numbers.