Texting Can Win You Money

You yell at your kids for constantly texting.  If they don't have an unlimited plan, you feel it in your wallet too.  Not so fast.  If they are the fastest texter in the country, they could nab $50,000.

Wednesday was the sixth annual U.S. National Texting Championship, where 11 of the speediest texters in the country competed for the title of fastest texter in the U.S.  and a grand prize of $50,000 cash.

It should come as no surprise that the field of contestants was on the young side, 16 to 24 years old, according to a report from the Associated Press.

They had to make it through eight grueling rounds of challenges 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.

To even the playing field, all competitors were given the same phone to text on, the Straight Talk LG Optimus Zip, which has a QWERTY keyboard and a touch screen.

The grand prize went to 17-year-old Austin Wierschke (left), who also won last year, making him the first person to win back-to-back titles in the competition.

So just how fast do you have to be to compete in a texting contest? The first runner-up, 16-year-old Kent Augustine, told the New York Daily News that he can text 3.5 characters per second.

Wow.  That's fast.