Breaking up made easy

We all know that there are a myriad of different ways to end a relationship with someone. There's the (seemingly) obvious route of telling the other person that it simply isn't working out, or that you've fallen for someone else, or that you just can't handle their choice in patio furniture any longer. There's the harsher routes of handling the break-up over a phone call, an email, or, and we shudder to think of it, a text message. And of course, there's the always classy method of leaving a message for someone on their answering machine, to completely extricate yourself from the possible confrontation.

Well, an entrepreneur in Berlin has taken a new route to allow people to end their relationships with even less chance of having pottery thrown at them. For a price of 50 euros, he'll make a visit to inform the dumpee that they're newly single. In the past year, Bernd Dressler has, by his own account, ended around 200 relationships.

And Dressler really gives each and every break-up that personal touch, with Dressler saying that delivering the message generally takes about three minutes total. "Most of the time they're totally surprised," he was quoted as saying. Can't imagine why they'd be surprised when a complete stranger shows up on their door to tell them that the man or woman of their dreams has decided it just isn't working.

Dressler doesn't only help out those unwilling to suffer the wrath themselves. In fact, he offers counseling to those looking to actually handle their own break-ups, and to others who are thinking that there's a chance they might be able to save their own relationships with some assistance. So the guy isn't all callousness and a severe lack of flowers.

The most shocking thing to us may be that this service is available in Berlin, but isn't yet available elsewhere. After all, with cellphone companies offering the ability to pre-record a "rescue" call in case a date goes badly, and people getting daytime talk shows because of books like "He's Just Not That Into You", it really seems like Dressler's service is poised for the global market. In fact, if only we would've had a business like that here in America only a few months ago, we might've been spared the footage of K-Fed learning about his break-up through his Blackberry.

But, then again, we also would've been spared the footage of K-Fed proving to America that he actually can read. Guess there really is a silver lining to every cloud.