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15-Year-Old Texting Champ Wins $50,000
Each year, LG holds its National Texting Championships in New York City, and SMS fiends gather from around the country to battle for thumb-dexterity supremacy. This year's champ, 15-year-old Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa, took the title, but her path to victory was not without some serious obstacles. Literally.LG, in a nod to texters' dangerous tendency to multi-task, forced contestants to run an obstacle course while sending difficult-to-type messages, and compose tongue twisters while being taunted by a giant emoticon. We can't make this stuff up.
The event climaxed in a tie-breaker, with Moore and runner up Dynda Morgan, a 14-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, furiously texting this behemoth SMS:
"Zippity Dooo Dahh Zippity Ayy...MY oh MY, what a wonderful day! Plenty of sunshine Comin' my way....Zippitty Do Dah Zippity Aay! WondeRful Feeling Wonderful day!"
Moore beat her younger competitor to the "send" button, and walked away with $50,000 for her troubles -- and a life-long excuse for not putting down her phone during dinner. [From: CNN, Via: CNET]
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Comments
38
Subscribe to commentskeenJun 17th 2009 4:31PM
"Savanna" != Savannah
LT_PrasuhnJun 18th 2009 7:23AM
Hey! The 'reporter'(?) is a journalist (?)....not a Geography expert. Good catch!! ;-)
LT_PrasuhnJun 18th 2009 7:29AM
So George...I guess you're 'still' NOT and expert on the Internet. Just what does the 'Google Cash System' have to do with this story about a young girl winning a 'Texting' Contest?
WOW!! Just over $400 in profit in about 2-weeks. Amazing! Many people make that at a 9-to-5 job in ONE week. The 'Google Cash System' is naught but a SCAM!!!
Bye!!
CONGRATULATIONS!, Kate....And to your 'runner-up', Dynda.
luvscrybeJun 18th 2009 1:38PM
You are so right. At work, we looked into it ... if it's the same scam you're talking about - you can make money reading ads, or something like that. Anyway, a $1.99 was required to Get into it. Okay, we devied up 20 cents each and used one of our debit cards. Inside, they want something like $200 for the 'privilege. SCAM!!! Don't get caught in it!!!
NevuelaJun 18th 2009 7:55AM
Wow. Now THIS is stupid. Who the hell surrendered fifty grand for this competition? So now we're REWARDING our kids for wasting their time and energy on this crap? Great. Now they're just going to spend even more time texting and even less living an actual life and learning real skills. $50,000 for being the best texter, while true people of talent waste away and die. Seriously.
Auguste Rodin, the sculptor of the famous "Thinker" statue, died homeless. He had asked the owner of a museum that he had donated much of his work to if he could live there to get out of the cold, and he was refused. Not long afterward he froze to death on the streets.
Nearly 100 years later a pampered kid wins $50,000 doing nothing. That's messed up.
PaulJun 18th 2009 8:46AM
I agree. What an amazingly useless "skill". And to acknowledge it by holding competitions and awarding money? To the alleged "competitors", try getting some input from the natural world around you instead of out of a screen or headphones. Look around you instead of down all the time. What an absolute waste.........and they pay money for such things.........pathetic.
mmaugenestJun 18th 2009 10:11AM
RODIN DIED A WEALTHY MAN IN HIS VILLA>I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE YOU GOT YOUR INFO FROM.
Platinum_SkeetJun 18th 2009 11:53AM
Texting skills come in handy when you're on a deployment and your boss is demanding an e-mail detailing the progress. Yeah it's useless right now but they're building skills for the business world of tomorrow. Shit I'm in the IT field and about to start my own business and my Blackberry keeps me to where I'm never to far to get something done at my job or communicate issues in an instant.
travisJun 18th 2009 1:16PM
i agree who paid the 50,000? couldn't they just give 1,000 to 50 deserving familys in this economy instead of rerawarding a stupid skill? Is it a skill? so what she can send texts faster,i guess we know her conversations are one sided! who comes up with these stupid contests? Is it some bored rich people? I can find better use for 50,000 Lets hope she puts it to good use towards a real skill then maybe it will be aq good thing.
PaulJun 18th 2009 8:45AM
They pay money to and otherwise award people for TEXTING? Try giving money to someone for something meaningful. What an absolute and total waste........
elove1018Jun 18th 2009 8:53AM
I do not think this is a good contest, because it encourage teenagers to think that they can drive while texting.
UFO654 CAROLEJun 18th 2009 9:10AM
PROBLEM IS ONE OF SOCIABILITY AND THE ABILITY TO STOP TEXTING. I NOTED THAT DURING A SOCIAL EVENT AND SEATED AT A TABLE FOR TEN, TWO YOUNG PEOPLE (YES I AM OLD) KEPT LOOKING DOWN IN THEIR LAPS AND NATURALLY THEY WERE TEXTING). PROBLEM? YES AS IT WAS EVERY TWO MINUTES AND IT WAS DISTRACTING AND THEY COULD BE TAKING PART IN A CONVERSATION BUT THE ATTENTION WAS ALWAYS ON THEIR DOJIGGERS FOR TEXTING. HMMMM NO MANNERS HERE. PERHAPS WE WILL EVOLVE WITH NO MORE MOUTHS AND THERFORE NO MORE MOUTHS TO FEED?
tgonzopadJun 18th 2009 10:45AM
Or to many mouth's to feed, because they can't focus on "work". Therefore NO JOB...
mongooseproxcJun 18th 2009 9:20AM
This texting record thing is retarded. I hope your thumbs fall off.
willsharmonicJun 18th 2009 9:58AM
Whatever. She got lucky and won 50k for texting.. its chump change compared to the money Lg recieved due to this event.
ChrisJun 18th 2009 10:25AM
Gee and I thought "Cup Stacking" was useless....
DJC EMPIREJun 18th 2009 10:45AM
In business, texting is not useless. Multi-million dollar deals are closed, I assume lives could or have been saved via texting,as well. Texting is essential in today's business world. But, I do think that the $50K should have been a college scholarship. Education is the what will make the US strong and prosperous, not useless skills. And for the blue collar people, education can be ANYTHING-machinist, cosmetologist, medical assistant, CDL training- skilled labor or white collar. I don't care. We need skilled, educated people to lead our country or we will all be deep crap in the years to come. I am one of theose "idiots" that texts everywhere-driving ,in a line at a store etc, but I try not to talk on the phone while doing those things. It is all perception...
picksdJun 18th 2009 10:46AM
this is stupid- that much money for doing something that is potentially dangerous-
ie. driving and texting, I know she is only 14 now, but this says loud and clear that
it's okay to do whatever else you want to while texting. This is hardly a life
skill that will get her anywhere--- it's too bad the young lady who discovered the
supernova didn't get the money. At least she did something useful. The story
is on the web.
drv7788Jun 18th 2009 10:50AM
HA HA HA! Hilarious, this competition set women back 20 years. Go equal rights!
kurtis987Jun 18th 2009 11:36AM
Now tell her see me in that 95 Madden.