Toothing

Toothing

Toothing was originally a media hoax that claimed that Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones or PDAs were being used to arrange random sexual encounters.

Toothing

It appears that toothing started around March 2004, in the form of a fake forum designed by Ste Curran, then Editor at Large at games magazine "Edge", and ex-journalist Simon Byron. On April 4, 2005, the creators of the forum admitted that the whole thing was a hoax. [ [http://www.thetriforce.com/newblog/?p=53 The Triforce » Blog Archives » Toothing ] ] In toothing, a Bluetooth device is used to "discover" other enabled devices within about 30 feet (10 meters), then send the expression "toothing?" as an initial greeting. In addition, or when sending of text messages via Bluetooth is not possible, the Bluetooth name of the phone can be set to "toothing?" or something else to indicate interest. Since the hoax, there have been real Bluetooth dating devices to hit the market.

Although created as a hoax, bluetoothing merged the very credible concepts of short-range wireless networking and desire for sexual partners. Recent news from more credible sources shows some evidence of real usage of Bluetooth for this purpose in (generally ) public places. Given the limited functionality and poor usability of standard Bluetooth implementations to support messaging, it is not surprising that wider usage of it would only arise in extreme dating situations. Bluetoothing is an example of localized social networking, which is becoming increasingly popular.

imilar hoaxes

A similar hoax was attempted in July 2005. This hoax proposed a sexual practice called "greenlighting," in which men and women wore green shirts with the collars turned up, and had sexual relations with whoever turned the collars down. In truth, no such sexual practice has taken place on any notable scale. The hoax similarly involved posts to the blogosphere, and various sites that purported to coordinate and discuss among "greenlighters".

It was immediately speculated to be a hoax by many users at Metafilter, where the first external link to the forum was posted. The hoaxers abandoned their attempt on the morning of July 6 after information about the deception was posted to Wikipedia. The organizers of the attempted hoax later posted their "memoirs" on the site.

Concurrently with this, the journalist Cyrus Farivar, who had been among the bloggers casting suspicion on the hoax, found links from the Wookiefetish website in his referrer logs. He registered an account on the forum to access the messages and found proof that the site was a hoax, revealing it on his blog. Farivar later wrote a column about the hoax and his role in exposing it for Slate Magazine. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060214033011]

Trivia

* Toothing is referenced in the "CSI Miami" episode "Killer Date" when Eric Delko loses his police badge in conjunction with such a hookup. [ [http://www.csifiles.com/reviews/csi/killer_date.shtml CSI Files - CSI: Miami-'Killer Date' ] ]

ee also

*Bluechat
*Bluedating
*Bluejacking
*Gel bracelet
*Dogging
*Rainbow party (sexuality)

References

External links

* [http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=4859042&section=news Reuters article on toothing]
* [http://www.hanasiana.com/archives/000323.html What Ever Happened to Toothing?]
* [http://www.bluesearch.org BlueSearch]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Toothing — ist eine fiktive Form von Blind Date mit anonymem Sex, bei der Unbekannte – so genannte Toother – an Orten mit vielen Menschen, beispielsweise im Zug oder an Konferenzen, über Bluetooth taugliche Mobiltelefone Kontakt aufnehmen und mit… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Toothing — Tooth ing, n. 1. The act or process of indenting or furnishing with teeth. [1913 Webster] 2. (Masonry) Bricks alternately projecting at the end of a wall, in order that they may be bonded into a continuation of it when the remainder is carried up …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Toothing — El toothing fue un engaño que aseguraba que era posible utilizar el Bluetooth de los teléfonos móviles o PDAs para obtener encuentros sexuales aleatorios. Contenido 1 Toothing 2 Bromas similares 3 Trivia …   Wikipedia Español

  • Toothing — Tooth Tooth, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Toothed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Toothing}.] 1. To furnish with teeth. [1913 Webster] The twin cards toothed with glittering wire. Wordsworth. [1913 Webster] 2. To indent; to jag; as, to tooth a saw. [1913 Webster] 3.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Toothing plane — Toothing Tooth ing, n. 1. The act or process of indenting or furnishing with teeth. [1913 Webster] 2. (Masonry) Bricks alternately projecting at the end of a wall, in order that they may be bonded into a continuation of it when the remainder is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • toothing — noun 1》 the teeth on a saw. 2》 projecting bricks or stones left at the end of a wall to allow its continuation …   English new terms dictionary

  • toothing — Noun. Sex between strangers, after having been arranged via the mobile phone (cell phone) using Bluetooth technology …   English slang and colloquialisms

  • toothing — tooth·ing …   English syllables

  • toothing — /ˈtuθiŋ/ (say toohtheeng) noun a method of laying bricks so that stretchers project from a wall to bond with later work; indenting. {tooth + ing1} …  

  • toothing — n. projecting bricks or stones left at the end of a wall to allow its continuation …   Useful english dictionary

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