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'Toothing' for Hi-Tech Sex with Strangers
By Michael Holden
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."
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