I'm looking for some great advice -- and some unusual tips -- on how
to introduce people who don't know each other at a party (when you're
the host) so that everyone feels comfortable and has a great time. 
I'd prefer unusual ideas people can't find everywhere.

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Clarification of Question by curiously-ga on 20 Jan 2004 07:51 PST

Thanks for the tips.  What I'm really looking for is ways to make
people comfortable doing introductions -- things that go beyond trying
to find something of mutual interest between the people you are
introducing (although tips on how to do this really well are fine). 
Mindset tips are good too.  And, if you find any suggestions on
turning introductions into a game, that's OK too.  My focus is on
adults.  Thanks.

The Dutch have a neat trick ... Each newcomer introduces him/her self to the others.

At a party my mother gave recently, she got pictures of cows (you
could use something slightly less odd), cut them in half and stuck
different letters on them. Then each person had to find their 'Udder
Half' (obviously this terrible pun would not work if you weren't using
pictures of cows) - ie the person with the other half of their cow, as
identified by the matching letter.

I thought it would be _awful_ but it actually worked really well. And
you could do famous couples instead - and spark debate as to whether
Tom Cruise matches Nicole Kidman or Penelope Cruz. Or baffle people
with pictures of novelists and names of their books. I'm sure there
are a million options.

Hope this helps.