Young people themselves seem unmoved by the US-based Silver Ring Thing, currently touring the UK touting for virgins. Ethan Jacobs, 16, a son of the organiser, said his mother has received as many as 300 phone calls a day since the group arrived.
Then explained: "It's mostly reporters, radio shows, that kind of thing."
Even Ethan didn't much see much point in the exercise for himself. "I'm fine with my own self-discipline," he explained.
Lack of interest among young people has already scaled down the second event, held in Birmingham. The high-tech show had to be relocated to a smaller venue.
The Times had a fruitless stab at finding young chastity enthusiasts in Claygate, Surrey, the first venue for the Silver Ring Thing. The problem the journalist found was a shortage of teenage virgins. After a day spent scouring the village for candidates, she claimed not to have found anyone between the ages of 14 and 19 who even knew of such a person. "One 15-year-old boy called Owen unwittingly summed up the situation when he asked: 'What's celibate?'"
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