Jul 29, 2006 1:23 am US/Eastern
Utah Teen Sets Text Messaging Record
DENVER (AP) ―
A Utah teen with fingers of fury is once again the speed text-messaging king of the world. Ben Cook, 18, of Provo, Utah, returned to the top of the cell-phone text-messaging heap Friday at a Denver text-off at a water park, blazing through a 160-character standardized message in 42.22 seconds.
The phrase used for purposes of professional, competition texting is: "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."
The feat was recorded on video and scored by an official timekeeper, validating it for Guinness World Records purposes, said Sara Spaulding, spokeswoman for event sponsor Jump Mobile.
Text messaging, already popular with teenagers, is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S., jumping from 2.9 billion a month in 2004 to about 7.3 billion a month in December 2005, according to a survey by the CTIA, the wireless industry's trade group.
Cook in 2004 snagged the world record by texting the official phrase in 57.75 seconds, a record that soon fell. Before Cook's feat Friday, the record was held by a 23-year-old woman from Singapore at 43.24 seconds set on June 27, 2004.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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