Singletons, whether unmarried or divorced, are able to sign up for the roughest, toughest unaccompanied positions.

ECONOMIST: Marriage

This means that singletons will be the fastest-growing household group in most parts of the world (see chart).

ECONOMIST: Singletons

Northampton Borough Council said its evening of music and entertainment on the night before Valentine's Day was aimed at "singletons".

BBC: Northampton

High-rise living may appeal to singletons, whereas families often shun them.

ECONOMIST: Residential skyscrapers come of age in Britain

Another reason may be Singletons cunning at bringing down labor costs.

FORBES: Encirclement

Perhaps that New York Times story from last year about singletons judging their dates by their credit scores was more accurate than any of us realized.

FORBES: Student Loan Debt And The Wedding Bell Blues

In April Slingshot will roll out a dating site for budget-conscious singletons who are more likely to meet for coffee at Dunkin' Donuts than a cocktail at the Four Seasons.

FORBES: Social Slingers

Even so, one player, Spark Networks' chief executive, David Siminoff, 41, hopes his company will thrive by offering good customer service and by catering to small niches of singletons who are seriously looking for mates.

FORBES: Getting Couples To Click

Normally, an incoming electron would have a good chance of displacing one of these low-energy incumbents, but unlike the free electrons in metals, which are usually singletons, those in a superconductor tend to wander around in pairs.

ECONOMIST: Microrefrigeration