The Brits are at it again, first came dodging an underground swinging scene where couples and sometimes third or fourth parties engage in public sex for an exhibitionist thrill, and now comes "toothing," where strangers on trains and buses and at bars and concerts hook up for clandestine sex by text messaging each other with their Bluetooth-enabled cell phones or PDAs.
According to the
Beginner's Guide to Toothing, the online FAQ written by a man who calls himself Toothy Toothing, 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.... Users 'discover' other computers or phones in the vicinity and then send a speculative message. The usual greeting is: 'Toothing?'"
Toothing takes advantage of the capabilities of
Bluetooth, a wireless technology that allows two devices to communicate with each other over short distances. Many mobile phones and PDAs now have built-in Bluetooth functionality and allow users to automatically locate other such devices in their vicinity.
When it comes to toothing, the challenge is determining the gender and sexual orientation of prospective toothing partners, as the practice is by no means the exclusive province of the straight.
Until now, toothing has been mostly a British phenomenon. But Jon recently added a new international toothing category to his forum. And quickly, several people began posting, looking to see if anyone in Mexico, the Czech Republic and elsewhere was into toothing.
I can only wonder what's next? Next generation phones will have GPS built it, and more powerful communication protocol called UMB, plus EDGE and G3! I'm sure a mobile matchmaking vendor would exploit these technologies to create a service that would notify you if a match walks into the room. Who knows what's next!
