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The moments in the elevator, the eye contact at Whole Foods, the stolen glances in the dog park—Washingtonians can’t get enough of Craigslist Missed Connections, the forum that allows you to advertise your missed romantic moments in hopes that your beloved will see it and respond. Through rigorous scientific analysis, The List examines D.C.'s most common source of Missed Connections, Metro, and decodes the mystery of transit romance.

1. Orange: flavor of love

   Despite having greater ridership, the Red Line takes second place to the Orange in total number of Missed Connections. With a flurry of eye contact at Farragut West and a series of love-crushing elevator outages on the Red, the Orange Line scored 67 percent of all Metro MCs out of a sample pool of 128.

2. Crime: love deterrent?

   Is it a coincidence that the Green and Yellow Lines, which travel through some of Metro’s most crime-plagued stations, scored the lowest number of Missed Connections? The Green and Yellow scored 19 and 15 percent of all MCs and plenty of bad PR this summer (rowdy teens, etc). Could it be that fear of losing their wallets is preventing riders from losing their hearts?

3. Metro: land of excuses

   Metro MC posters displayed a notable tendency to offer poor excuses for their inability to talk to the objects of their affection. “Very hot, but didn’t get a chance to say hello” laments one poster; “I didn’t get a chance to say something,” says another. Didn’t get a chance? You’re on Metro. You have nothing to do except fiddle with your iPod and talk to people.

4. Metro: clueless riders

   Perhaps the sway of the train dulls the senses because Metro riders are absolutely unable to pick up on the advances of riders trying to flirt. Whether it was the guy who didn’t get that his lady was trying to give him her phone number or the passenger who didn’t take initiative even when a fellow rider fell asleep on his shoulder, these people are unable to interpret even the most obvious invitations.

5. Lessons learned

   Metro Missed Connection posters seem painfully aware that an MC on public transit is more tragic than an MC elsewhere—not only is a chance at love squandered, but also a chance at a Hollywood-esque meet cute. “I’m mostly trying this because it would be a great story,” says one die-hard romantic. Another, forlornly: “It was like a movie, except unlike a movie, I didn’t step up.”