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'Toothing' for Hi-Tech Sex with Strangers
Oddy Enough - Reuters ^
| 2004-04-19
| Michael Holden
Posted on 04/19/2004 12:48:37 PM PDT by Junior
LONDON (Reuters) - British commuters take note -- the respectable person sitting next to you on the train fumbling with their cell phone might be a "toother" looking for sex with a stranger.
"Toothing" is a new craze where strangers on trains, buses, in bars and even supermarkets hook up for illicit meetings using messages sent via the latest in phone technology.
"Toothing is a form of anonymous sex with strangers -- usually on some form of transport or enclosed area such as a conference or training seminar," says the "Beginner's Guide To Toothing" on a Web site dedicated to the pursuit.
It is made possible by Bluetooth technology which allows users to send phone contacts, pictures and messages to other Bluetooth-enabled equipment over a range of about 10 meters (yards).
Users discovered they could send anonymous messages to people they didn't know with Bluetooth equipment, spawning a craze dubbed "bluejacking."
Jon, aka "Toothy Toothing" and the guide's author, explained toothing was born after he was "bluejacked" by an unknown girl while commuting to work in London. After a few days of flirting, she suggested a brief encounter in a station lavatory.
"The meeting wasn't a romantic thing -- it was purely sexual. Barely anything was said," he told Reuters via e-mail.
He said potential toothers begin by sending out a random greeting -- usually "Toothing?."
"If the other party is interested, messages are exchanged until a suitable location is agreed -- usually a public toilet, although there are tales of more adventurous spots such as deserted carriages or staff areas," his guide adds.
Jon, who's in his 20s and works in finance, estimates there could be tens of thousands of toothers from all sorts of professions and lifestyles. Certainly the Web site's message board is busy.
"Any toothing on these trains?" asks one poster about services between Cambridge and London, prompting positive responses from "Dannyboy" and "Zeke."
"I'll be around London Bridge mainline station around 9.45 - 10 a.m. tomorrow if anyone's interested...," another poster called "Boi" wrote hopefully.
While some happily recount their successful encounters, others suggest there are a few teething problems with toothing.
"I tried toothing in Tooting (south London) last night... not a device to be found," a frustrated "Snowdog" posted sadly.
Although clearly not what the industry had in mind, toothing may lead operators toward similar, more mainstream projects.
Last month it was reported that a team in Boston had created a service for cell phones called Serendipity, an wireless alternative to online dating.
It allows subscribers to store their personal details and what they want from a partner and when there are enough similarities between two people and they happen to be in the same area, it tells their phones to communicate with each other.
Dario Betti, of the British-based consultancy Ovum, said bluejacking had really taken off, helped by the fact the service was free.
"The element of the unknown, that you are connecting to someone around you that you might not know, it's a novelty factor that is helping it to start," he told Reuters.
If Jon and those who use his forum are right, toothing is certainly livening up life for some bored commuters.
"A lot of my day's taken up with a soul-aching commute into the city, and that just feels like dead time," Jon said.
"Flirting is fun, sex is fun. We're just employing expensive, complex toys to find the most basic form of entertainment."
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: kevinspacey; keysersoze; toothingintooting
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1
posted on
04/19/2004 12:48:39 PM PDT
by
Junior
To: Junior
Oh my...
2
posted on
04/19/2004 12:49:02 PM PDT
by
Junior
(Remember, you are unique, just like everyone else.)
To: PatrickHenry; VadeRetro
There's hope for you yet, guys.
3
posted on
04/19/2004 12:50:26 PM PDT
by
Junior
(Remember, you are unique, just like everyone else.)
To: Junior
I'm sure the AIDs viruses are very happy...
4
posted on
04/19/2004 12:51:03 PM PDT
by
valkyrieanne
(Fallujah delenda est.)
To: Junior
After a few days of flirting, she suggested a brief encounter in a station lavatory.
"The meeting wasn't a romantic thing -- it was purely sexual..." NAAAAAAAW! You don't say!
5
posted on
04/19/2004 12:51:22 PM PDT
by
martin_fierro
(A v v n c v l v s M a x i m v s)
To: Junior
Sick
6
posted on
04/19/2004 12:53:01 PM PDT
by
apackof2
(I'm gonna live what I believe)
To: valkyrieanne
Safe sex...you put a condom over your cell phone...
7
posted on
04/19/2004 12:53:30 PM PDT
by
ken5050
(Ann Coulter needs to have children ASAP to propagate her genes.....any volunteers?)
To: Junior
Psssst! Meet me in the Smokey Backroom.
8
posted on
04/19/2004 12:54:00 PM PDT
by
PatrickHenry
(Socialism is worse than tyrannical, it's nonsensical.)
To: Junior; Charles Henrickson; mikrofon; Constitution Day; Tijeras_Slim; xsmommy; ...
When "Toothing" goes horribly, horribly wrong:
9
posted on
04/19/2004 12:54:15 PM PDT
by
martin_fierro
(A v v n c v l v s M a x i m v s)
To: Junior
I'm disappointed in my fellow FReepers. Very disappointed. Six posts preceding mine, and not ONE invoking Beezlebubba? Are we slipping?
To: Junior
"Toothing?"
I always thought that the words 'tooth' and (censored) don't go together...
11
posted on
04/19/2004 12:54:35 PM PDT
by
Dan from Michigan
("12 hours outta Mackinaw City, stopped at the bar to have a brew.....")
To: Sabertooth
Is that SABERtoothing?
12
posted on
04/19/2004 12:54:44 PM PDT
by
RonDog
To: Junior
I have to wonder how much technology has been advanced by people seeking perverse pleasure. Pornography was a decisive factor in the initial success of VHS tapes. It plays a big role on the internet. It may help establish bluetooth as a standard. Scary.
13
posted on
04/19/2004 12:54:50 PM PDT
by
blanknoone
(Imagine if we had FR, talk radio and Fox during the Tet offensive...how different history would be..)
To: valkyrieanne
That's what I was thinking - how cute. Next up - AIDSing, haw haw and then taw taw.
14
posted on
04/19/2004 12:55:11 PM PDT
by
AD from SpringBay
(We have the government we allow and deserve.)
To: Junior
Technologically enabled, terminally self-destructive behavior.
What will they think of next?
15
posted on
04/19/2004 12:55:33 PM PDT
by
E. Pluribus Unum
(Drug prohibition laws help fund terrorism.)
To: Junior
Things must of been real tough back in the infrared (irDA port) days. Would WiFi be more of a long distance relationship?
16
posted on
04/19/2004 12:56:10 PM PDT
by
avg_freeper
(Gunga galunga. Gunga, gunga galunga)
To: E. Pluribus Unum
What will they think of next? I'm thinking virtual reality sex.
17
posted on
04/19/2004 12:56:51 PM PDT
by
Junior
(Remember, you are unique, just like everyone else.)
To: Junior; martin_fierro
If you ask me, this type of stuff is just looking for trouble. You can't be too careful about actually meeting someone you met over the internet. It's funny you should post this, though, as this evening I'm finally meeting face to face with someone I met nearly 2 years ago on a Yahoo message board. I'm a combination of nervous and excited, as well as curious to find out what a "cyber-transsexual" is.
Owl_Eagle
" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"
18
posted on
04/19/2004 12:56:51 PM PDT
by
End Times Sentinel
("Worst idea I had since I picked the fight with that kid outside of the Karate School.")
To: Junior
and now for something completely different
19
posted on
04/19/2004 12:56:51 PM PDT
by
Centurion2000
(Resolve to perform what you must; perform without fail that what you resolve.)
To: martin_fierro
Holy Crap I just had lunch...BARF-O-RAMA
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