What Ever Happened to 'Toothing'?

Jim Hanas excertps from his very funny article on the quiet disappearance of last-year's promised digital bacchanal. "Remember 'toothing'? It was a craze that was sweeping England last year as bored commuters arranged sexual encounters using Bluetooth-enabled cellphones. You probably read about it over at Wired or Reuters or the BBC. There's a decent chance you even blogged about it. Well. What happened?" Update: 04/05 00:10 GMT by T : Hanas writes with a followup: "The original source on the whole toothing thing has just admitted it was a hoax -- in response to my email and your picking up of my post."

Comments

a/s/l

[fembots]

Well, like teething, it'll stop sooner or later.

I was Feeling-Google-Lucky with "toothing" (thanks FireFox!) and this Toothing Blog was last updated on April 28 2004.

And finding partners for sex using bluetooth mobile is as productive as asking a/s/l on IRC channels, or Mrs Gump's box of chocolate.

Seriously, no matter how horny you are, you wouldn't simply jump on bed with anybody, would you?

Re:a/s/l

[The Amazing Fish Boy]

Seriously, no matter how horny you are, you wouldn't simply jump on bed with anybody, would you?

You're a girl, aren't you?

Re:a/s/l

[cooter1pt2]

Isn't that what you do in a club or bar? Or even, to a lesser extent, a house party? I doubt toothers would just accept blindly anyone who replied (say, if upon seeing them, they were a hideous, snaggle-toother beast). So in a way, yes, I can say I have engaged in that kind of risky behavior (avec condom). Wouldn't do it again, tho.

Re:a/s/l

[murphyslawyer]

if upon seeing them, they were a hideous, snaggle-toother beast

Wait - this is the craze that was sweeping ENGLAND?

Re:a/s/l

[mrchaotica]

A girl? On Slashdot?? No, she's a fembot -- look at the name.

Re:a/s/l

[Shalda]

(and i even go to a Catholic College)

Well, duh. Give girls a lifetime of sexual repression and two beers and the rest takes care of itself. I find that the less repressed they are, the better they control their urges.

Re:a/s/l

[Xugumad]

Or more to the point, they're probably someone who feels reasonably confident that, if they want to get laid, they can do in the short to medium term. If someone is a lot less sure when (or if) they'll get another off, I think they're a helluva lot less likely to be in any way picky.

Losing track of my point here. Mostly, I think people who do have something resembling a regular/normal sex life might not realise just how desperate a small but vocal minority of /. users get.

I'm giving up now, taking the karma bonus off, and hoping this isn't too much babblage.

Toothing has been filed as novely item #127345

[LiquidCoooled]

Along with leg warmers and flash mobs.

It turns out...

[halcyon1234]

No one got laid.

Welcome to the Internet.

Ouch.

[ethzer0]

I always say less toothing.

Promiscuous Mode: Off

[mattkime]

Apparently people have wised up and turned off promiscuous mode.

(Its a good way to prevent virus transmission.)

Well duh

[null etc.]

Well. What happened?

What do you think happened? It ended up being a bunch of blokes chasing after another bloke named "Shelly".

Re:What happened?

[screwballicus]

discovering that the cute 20-something you were TXTing a minute ago seems to have become a disturbing 50 year old man with bad teeth and worse breath.

Or discovering that the big, hairy 50 year old bear daddy you were trying to pick up is some cute-but-straight 20-something who's just playing with you.

First rule of tooth club...

[DarthShader]

Gentlemen,

The first rule of tooth club is: You do not talk about tooth club.
The second rule of tooth club is: You DO NOT talk about tooth club.
Third rule of tooth club, someone yells "Stop!", goes limp, taps out, the toothing is over.
Fourth rule, only two people to a toothing.
Fifth rule, one toothing at a time, fellas.
Sixth rule, no shirt, no shoes.
Seventh rule, toothings will go on as long as they have to.
And the eighth and final rule, if this is your first night at tooth club, you have to tooth.

Plain vs gorgeous

[wombatmobile]

"Looking back, I had more fun with the plain jane lookalikes who caught my attention because they were my kind of lighthearted kinky in the bedroom that with the look-at-me gorgeous women I've brought home from the bar only to find out that they were plain boring in bed. "

Yes, those gorgeous women sure are boring in bed. I am tired of the wasted effort pleasuring gorgeous women that I bring home from the bar. Please, let's just concentrate on the plain ones.