"I bought a ping-pong table on Craigslist and 30 paddles at Sports Basement, and I invited 150 of my closest friends. We had a fab time, and all I heard all night was, "Why isn't this a thing??? One of the great things about Berlin-style ping-pong is how social it is. You find yourself next to strangers in the circle, and you have this common sports drama to bond over. Somebody makes a wild shot, and you’re all cheering and exchanging critiques together. You recognize players of similar skill levels to your own, and you root for them. Pretty soon you're friends. That’s how it’s been at American Tripps. It’s a real scene. I’ve made at least two or three real friends there. Even better, I know of at least five romances that took off there. There have probably been countless hookups too, at least one of which happened during the party in the back room." --Allan, explaining how American Tripps got started, for the Bold Italic

http://thebolditalic.com/Allan/stories/1364-table-manners