In preparation for my trip to Europe (including London), I stumbled onto this Wired story about "toothing" (which also introduced me to the British craze of "dogging": "an underground swinging scene where couples and sometimes third or fourth parties engage in public sex for an exhibitionist thrill.")

Daniel Terdiman

[from Wired News: Brits Going at It Tooth and Nail]

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.

"I've always loved the idea of random sexual encounters, but have never felt brave enough to go to (sex) parties," says Steve, a toother from Hitchin, England. "The beauty of toothing is that there's no pressure. I was reluctant to send messages at first, but the standard greeting, which I found out from (an online toothing forum) is so innocuous there is no chance of offending anyone by sending a random message."

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?'"

Maybe I'll rent a bluetooth phone while I'm there...