The article below was printed in the Saturday, August 26, 2000 issue of The Guardian, page 17.
Philip Willan in Rome
An Italian psychologist has put microprocessors to work to produce a 21st century version of the chastity belt, for which he expects to find a market among suspicious modern couples.
Attached to the elastic of a normal pair of men's or women's underpants, the "chastity timer" records the frequency and length of time that the undergarments are removed.
"There will certainly be a market for it:' Professor Giuseppe Cirillo said yesterday. "Couples who want to demonstrate their fidelity will wear it."
Agreeing to don the cigarette-packet sized contraption, which records the opening and closing of the elastic, would be a reassuring gesture on the part of a husband or wife travelling for business, he said.
At the end of the trip spouses would have an exact record of the periods of time during which their partner might have been subjected to temptation.
"If it says the boxer shorts were off for 20 minutes or an hour, then there is no excuse,' Prof Cirillo, the founder of a Rome-based school of courtship and seduction, said.
Prof Cirillo's aim is to develop a more advanced device which would sound an alarm on the partner's mobile phone if the closing mechanism remained open for longer than five minutes.
"I have spoken to telecommunications engineers and they say it is perfectly feasible,' he said.
[ Back for more chastity related items ]
Page last updated 00-Aug-28 by: Altairboy@aol.com