Can you explain what a "key party" is and how it works?

"Key party" is a term that originated in the 1970s and is associated with a certain type of gathering. The concept is thus:

• Participants, often couples, arrive at a designated location.
• Upon entering, each male participant places his car or house keys into a bowl or bag.
• At a certain point in the night, each female participant pulls out a set of keys from the bowl or bag randomly.
• The female then pairs up with the male participant who owns those keys, and they spend the night together.

Key parties were reportedly a component of the "swinging" or "wife-swapping" scene, which was part of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. However, how prevalent these parties were is a topic of debate, and some believe key parties were more of an urban myth or an exaggeration of real parties that weren't as organized or formulaic.

Learn more:

1. Key Party Vogue
2. Key Party Prevention
3. Key Party Quora