The United States may have stolen the text-messaging world record from the text-loving British thanks to a lightning-fast performance by Ben Cook, a 17-year-old high school student in Salt Lake City.
Cook was competing in the “Fastest-Fingers Text Messaging Contest,” sponsored by Cricket provider Leap Wireless International Inc. Cook clocked in with an official time of 57:75, way ahead of the previous text-messaging record set by James Trusler of the United Kingdom. Trusler scored a record of 67 seconds during a performance on the TV show “The Panel,” in Sydney, Australia, Sept. 24, 2003. Text messaging is a major pastime in the United Kingdom due to high calling costs.
Leap Wireless said it would submit the results as well as the qualifying documentation to the “Guinness Book of World Records” for verification of Cook’s record.
The “Guinness Book of World Records” recently set up a new category for text-messaging speed. Challengers must type the Guinness-authorized 160-character passage, “The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human” on a standard 10-key mobile-phone keypad with no extra spaces and no spelling errors, all without the use of predictive text software.
“Unbelievable! Ben certainly demonstrated the speed, precision and dexterity to make us proud,” said Rick Barlow, area general manager for Leap Wireless in Utah. “We hope to certify this and bring the world text-messaging record to Utah. It was an incredible clutch performance.”
Cook, a junior and varsity basketball player at Timpanogos High School, said he often texts his friends, but increased his speed a few months ago in preparation for the contest.
In an indication of Cook’s speed, it took an RCR Wireless News reporter familiar with text messaging fully 10 minutes to type the Guinness passage.
