World's Fastest Texter: Austin Wierschke
For the second year in a row, teenager Austin Wierschke has earned the title of fastest texter in the United States.
Wierschke of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, won after eight rounds at the texting competition Wednesday in New York's Times Square, becoming the first competitor to win back-to-back titles in the 6th Annual LG U.S. National Texting Championship. He gets $50,000 in prize money.
The eight-round competition, held on a traffic island in Times Square, tested the 11 finalists on three factors: speed, accuracy, and dexterity. In one round, the remaining contestants were blindfolded and had 45 seconds to type the verse: "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are, up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky." Contestants used LG Optimus Zip phones.
In the final round, the 16-year-old Wierschke bested Kent Augustine, 16, of Queens, N.Y., in a duel of the thumbs staged before yelling fans.
Among the other finalists were Olivia Fagan, 16, of Clermont, Fla.; Alyssa Podwell and Rachel Armstrong, 18, of Illinois; and Kent Augustine, who the Daily News reported can type 3.5 characters per second.
Related Stories
Sony's Whopping 84-Inch 4K TV Will Dominate Your Living Room
Sony's Bravia XBR-84X900, unveiled at IFA 2012: an 84-inch 4K LED TV at 3840x2160 — four times Full HD — with 4K X-Reality Pro upscaling.
Indian-Americans from California raised $75000 to build an eye hospital in Bihar.
At a 2015 Cupertino fundraiser, Indian-Americans raised $75,000 as the first step toward a $4 million, 200-bed eye hospital in Bihar with 25,000 free
Why do American Indians strive for academic excellence?
Why do Indian-American families push so hard on academics? From skilled-worker immigration to the tiger-parent ethos, a look at the culture of excellence.