Toothing
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Toothing was originally a hoax claim that
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
-enabled
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...
s or PDAs were being used to arrange random sexual encounters, perpetrated as a prank on the media who reported it. The hoax was created by Ste Curran, then Editor at Large at the gaming magazine ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
'', and ex-journalist Simon Byron. They based it on the two concepts dogging and
bluejacking __NOTOC__ Bluejacking is the sending of unsolicited messages over Bluetooth to Bluetooth-enabled devices such as mobile phones, PDAs or laptop computers, sending a vCard which typically contains a message in the name field (i.e., for bluedati ...
that were popular at the time. The creators started a forum in March 2004 where they wrote fake news articles about toothing with other members and then sent them off to well-known Internet-based news services. The point of the hoax was to "highlight how journalists are happy to believe something is true without necessarily checking the facts". Dozens of news organizations, including
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
,
Wired News ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
, and ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' thought the toothing story was real and printed it. On April 4, 2005, Curran and Byron admitted that the whole thing was a hoax. There have, however, been real Bluetooth dating devices since.


Conception

Devised by Swedish telecommunication company
Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informa ...
,
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
is an
open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' ( ...
wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
protocol for exchanging data over short distances from mobile devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and personal computers. Originally, Bluetooth was only intended for wireless exchanging of files between these devices, but it was later discovered that it could also be used for sexual intentions. The hoax concept of toothing started around March 2004 in the form of a forum designed by Ste Curran, then Editor at Large at games magazine ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
'', and ex-journalist
Simon Byron Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
. Toothing was conceived as a merger of the two concepts dogging with
bluejacking __NOTOC__ Bluejacking is the sending of unsolicited messages over Bluetooth to Bluetooth-enabled devices such as mobile phones, PDAs or laptop computers, sending a vCard which typically contains a message in the name field (i.e., for bluedati ...
, both of which were frequently mentioned in the UK media around that time. Byron said he and Curran were "idly messaging about the
Stan Collymore Stanley Victor Collymore (born 22 January 1971) is an English football pundit, sport strategist, and former player who played as a striker from 1990 to 2001, most notably for Nottingham Forest and later Liverpool, who he joined from the for ...
dogging scandal, and how this stupid sexual buzzword had (apparently) come from nowhere," when they came up with the concept. "We wondered if we could create our own. We wonder a lot of things, and rarely push them past concept, because we’re as collectively creative as we are frustratingly idle. This particularly concept was simple enough to outstrip the temptations of grinning, saying 'Yeah!', and wandering off to see what was on elevision" Several newspapers have also compared toothing to dogging. In toothing, a Bluetooth device is used to find other Bluetooth enabled devices within a close distance (on trains or buses, for example), and then send the expression "toothing?" as an initial greeting, letting the person with the enabled Bluetooth device know you are looking for sex. If sending of text messages via Bluetooth is not possible, the Bluetooth name of the mobile phone can be set to "toothing?" or something else to indicate interest. The pair of hoaxers wrote fake news articles on the forum about toothing and sent them off well-known Internet-based news services. Byron said he had to write "'' Penthouse''-letters-page style sexual adventure stories" for articles and interviews with the media. The point with hoax was, according to Byron, to "highlight how journalists are happy to believe something is true without necessarily checking the facts."


Spread in media

The concept of toothing quickly reached a large audience, even in countries outside of the UK. Curran and Byron said they kept a record from the start of all their mentions in the media, "but there were soon too many to record in full." They agreed to do an interview with ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' and "many papers read that and followed up, broadsheet and tabloid, regional, national, all over the planet." One of the hoaxers made an appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live, and a member of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
reportedly declared his interest in toothing as a way of meeting women. The couple also received offers to license official toothing merchandise such as sex lines, websites, and mobile-phone software. Dozens of news organizations, including
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
,
Wired News ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
, Infosyncworld, and ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' fell for the story and printed it. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' also printed the story, but the article's author suspected it to be an
April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
prank. The BBC wrote in their article:
One practitioner is Jon, a "Toother" living near London. "One morning I received an anonymous text message via bluetooth," he told BBC News. "I didn't understand what had happened, but that evening I did some research and worked out how to send my own." The pair started to exchange messages on a train station platform; messages which got gradually more flirty. "Eventually she asked me if I fancied a quickie in the toilets at the station we were travelling to. "It happened, but I never saw her again." Since that day Jon - who claims to have had Toothing success five times - has set up a website dedicated to the practice but he admits it takes a degree of perseverance.


Aftermath

On April 4, 2005, the creators of the forum admitted that the whole thing was a hoax. Though the concept of toothing is possible, the hoaxers never intended for it to turn into something real. The couple said: "It's like going into a crowded nightclub, throwing a brick at the dance floor with a love letter attached, and hoping that the person it hits will agree to sleep with you." When announcing the hoax, Curran and Byron reassured that toothing was nothing more than a practical joke gone too far and despite all the articles in newspapers and tabloids, "no one has ever ever, ever toothed." Shanna Petersen, a sexologist, disagreed with the hoaxers' statement that no-one has ever toothed: "It's simple, doesn't take a lot of guts and rejection is nowhere as personal. Of course it's popular. Show people a new way through which they have a chance to have more sex and they'll do it. No matter how much effort goes into it or how meager the results." Multiple forums were in fact created throughout Europe, Asia and America within months of the original post of toothing. People signed up to the forums looking for good locations in their area to tooth, and to share their toothing stories with other members. There have later been real Bluetooth dating devices to hit the market.
University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...
psychologist Linda Blair said the practice of toothing is down to the human need to take risks: "I think we protect ourselves too much in modern society, and risk is a human need. We need motivation. In some ways this is a tame way of picking people up, it's almost a natural follow up from randomly picking people's names out of the phone book. It's voluntary at all stages, and has choice. As long as that's there and it's legal, then people should be able to do what they want." Sue Peters of the
Terrence Higgins Trust Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. In particular, the charity aims to end the transmission of HIV in the UK; to support and empower people living with HIV, to ...
worried that anonymous sex made possible by toothing would cause an increase of sexually transmitted diseases such as
chlamydia Chlamydia, or more specifically a chlamydia infection, is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. Most people who are infected have no symptoms. When symptoms do appear they may occur only several we ...
in the United Kingdom.
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
sociologist
Albert Benschop Albert Benschop (10 May 1949, Rijswijk - 27 February 2018) was a Dutch sociologist with the University of Amsterdam's faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He was the chief editor of the university's SocioSite project. His internet studies a ...
researched the hoax. He said toothing is "the next logical step" in dating and that the "old game is just adapting to new times". Benschop added that toothing is "just like picking up people in bars but without the silly time-consuming conventions of decorum that people are obliged to keep to these days. This is much more direct. You both know what you want." He also sees it as a way for people "to satisfy their need for intimacy. As long as it helps people out of loneliness and gives them more to enjoy in life, I think it's a very good development." The term "toothing" was included in the 2006 version of ''The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English''. It was described as an "anonymous casual sexual activity with any partner arranged over Bluetooth radio technology enabled mobile phones." In addition, toothing is listed in the ''Sex Slang'' dictionary, authored by Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, with an explanation similar to the one in the ''New Partridge Dictionary''. Toothing was referenced in an episode of the American television series ''
CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
'', called " Killer Date", that aired in the United States on April 18, 2005.


See also

*
Bluedating Wireless dating, Widating or Bluedating (from ''Bluetooth'') is a form of dating which makes use of mobile phone and Bluetooth technologies. Subscribers to the service enter details about themselves and about their ideal partner, as they would for ...
*
Gel bracelet Gel bracelets (or jelly bracelets) are a type of wristband often made from silicone. Gel bracelets Gel bracelets usually have a rectangular or circular cross-section. They are stretchy and come in a variety of colors. They have been popular i ...
*
Grindr Grindr () is a location-based social networking and online dating application targeted towards members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March 2009 an ...


References

{{Sexual urban legends 2004 hoaxes Bluetooth Internet hoaxes Sexual urban legends Sexuality and computing