Thumb Wars: How Fast Can You Text Message?
The sixth annual U.S. National Texting Championship took place on Wednesday, where 11 of the speediest texters in all the land competed for the ultimate texting title.
Yes, this is a real thing.
Contestants faced off through eight rounds of competition including texting while blindfolded, translating text speak into normal speak, texting backward, enduring a text-off with the audience, and simply texting test phrases as fast as possible.
In the interest of fair play, all contenders were required to use the same device - the Straight Talk LG Optimus Zip, which has a QWERTY keyboard and a touch screen. (Can you guess which cell-phone manufacturer sponsored the competition?)
All of the 11 finalists were between the ages of 16 to 24, which should come as no surprise for anyone who is living with a teenager. The winner: 17-year-old Austin Wierschke from Wisconsin, who took the crown (and the $50,000 grand prize) for the second year in a row, making him the first to hold back to back titles.
Weirschke told the AP that he sends almost 500 texts a day to his friends in order to practice.
Interesting.
Below is a snapshot of my 18-year-old sister's recent text message usage, captured via our online billing report:
Don't forget that most days she's in school for 8 hours (where phones aren't allowed) and asleep anywhere from 10 to a billion hours (closer to a billion on weekends).
Bottom line - she averages between 120 and 150 messages per day.
AND SHE'S NOT EVEN TRYING.
Better watch yourself, Wierschke. My little sister has your number.
Megan Sayers is the managing editor for ModernMom. Follow her on Twitter @MeganSayers
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