How Much to Break a World Record?

Aqua-chan · Post by **Aqua-chan** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:13 pm

So it's older news, but I just found this at [url="http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/694971/Dudes-Try-For-Texting-Record-Rack-Up-Massive-Phone-Bill.html#readmore"]G4[/url] and I had to share.

Two dopey central Pennsylvania dudes spent the month of March attempting to break the world’s text-messaging record attempt, exchanging a total of 217,000 messages.

Sounds awesome and super-fun, right?

Well, I’m sure it was…until Nick Andes, 29, received his itemized bill for a whopping $26,000!

Andes and pal Doug Klinger, 30, were relying on their unlimited text messaging plans to keep the costs of their adventure down but, alas, it didn’t quite work out that way.

"[The bill] came in a box that cost $27.55 to send to me," Andes said. He “panicked" and called T-Mobile, which told The Associated Press it had credited his account and was investigating the charges.

So what on earth possessed these two nincompoops to try such a daring feat?

Well, the guys have been major texting enthusiasts since they attended Berks Technical Institute together a decade ago. So Andes searched for the largest monthly text message total he could find posted online: 182,000 sent in 2005 by Deepak Sharma in India.

Andes and Klinger set up their phones to send multiple messages, and did a test run in February where they discovered they could send 6,000 or 7,000 messages on some days. This revelation inspired the “March messaging marathon.”

"Most were either short phrases or one word, 'LOL' or 'Hello,' things like that, with tons and tons of repeats," said Andes, who personally sent over 140,000 messages.

The Guinness Book of World Records people have not confirmed whether this insanity will be certified as a record or not….though one can assume if it’s deemed not a record, there will be two teary-eyed, broke dudes pumping your gas in central Pennsylvania for a the next decade or so…

It cost $30.00 just to send the bill. Wow. I just... I don't even know where to begin.

jklinders · Post by **jklinders** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:27 pm

I provide customer service for an american wireless company and while the limits have not been disclosed to me, I am pretty sure there is one on unlimited. The fine print should read unlimited within reason.I am pretty sure that type of usage was some kind o violation of their terms of use.

This is not restricted to wireless service, my broadband terms of use state that I am not to use an amount of bandwidth that would impeach others ability to use the same service. No hard ceiling is given but I am reasonably sure that if I was vile enough to start a spam operation I would get a letter pretty fast.

As for their actual behavoirs...I will never view myself as a loser with no life again.

Fiberfar · Post by **Fiberfar** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:57 am

How big is a ton of "lol" and "hello"?

Is it possible to count text messages in kilos?

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:03 am

Andes and Klinger set up their phones to send multiple messages, and did a test run in February where they discovered they could send 6,000 or 7,000 messages on some days. This revelation inspired the “March messaging marathon.”

"Most were either short phrases or one word, 'LOL' or 'Hello,' things like that, with tons and tons of repeats," said Andes, who personally sent over 140,000 messages.

Hopefully, they've already left the collective human gene pool.

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:09 pm

About Breaking Records!

Hello, 1 & All!

#00: In an attempt to break a record, at least they didn't smash a vinyl disk against something while saying, "Rock and roll has got to go!"

#01: It may not have made any sense, but at least it made a lot of cents for the service provider!

#02: Matthew Perry played his favorite game for too long and his hands required medical treatment. The report didn't mention the health status of their hands atfer doing the texting for so long!

#03: On "The Daily Buzz", fairly recently, there was a report about a girl who had set the record, and her bill was still free due to the "unlimited" clause. Did these guys see the same report and thus get inspired?

#04: It was a healthy choice compared to the Frenchman who ate his bicycle to get in the book!

The folks at "Guiness" said it would be a one time entry as they didn't want to encourage any more eating of machines! :laugh:

jklinders · Post by **jklinders** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:01 am

As far as I know the only measure for determining the size of a text message is in the number of characters in it. Typically there is a 160 character limit. I doubt that they are otherwise measured as it would be in the dozens of bytes.

T-mobile likely did not go through with the bill either as they would be loath to suffer bad publicity.Still that numbskullery deserves a massive bill. If the bill HAD gone through it would be one of the first modern day examples of a stupidity tax.