Just recently, text messaging turned 20 years old. It’s hard to imagine people have been sending these messages for two decades and it’s even harder to imagine life without this handy form of communication. Whether you love it or loathe it, it’s obviously here to stay, as it’s popularity and ease has grown exponentially over the last few years.
Maybe you’ve started picking up some of the text messaging lingo and you’re beginning to think you know everything there is to know about SMS. Think again. Here are a few interesting and lesser known facts about texting. Some may even raise and eyebrow or two.
- In at least one country — not the U.S. — it’s legal to divorce via text message. Because they are considered just another form of writing, texts are legal documents and are upheld by the government.
- If you’ve never done the math, text messages are limited to 160 characters per individual message. This limit was set for two reasons: to limit the amount of bandwidth used to send messages back in the 1980s when this was a concern and because it is the average number of characters needed to make a full statement or question.
- SMS “inventor” Matti Makkonen didn’t seek a patent because he didn’t believe he’d made a “patentable innovation.” He hasn’t made a dollar on the product since. Twenty years later, he says he’s glad it worked out the way it did.
- Text messaging became an unlikely hero during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. With no power and cables flooded, text messages proved essential. Texting coordinated livesaving helicopter rescues and informed hospitals of the status of incoming patients.
- In developing countries where laborers do not utilize banks to save or borrow money, they’re using phone minutes and text message allowances like currency. These items can be paid for via text message.
- An entirely new set of manners and ettiquette have evolved surrounding phones and messaging. Things like texting at the dinner table or while on a date are not appropriate now, and hopefully never will be.
- Did you know there are actually text messaging contests? But the fastest text messengers still aren’t as fast as the fastest morse coders.
- Twitter was inspired by text messaging and limited it’s character maximum to 140 characters so that users could read a full tweet whether using an old basic cell phone or a fancy advance smartphone.
There is some debate about the future of text messaging. Will other applications arise that overcome it’s ease and convenience? Will social media options provide for better ways to connect with people more quickly? No matter what side of the debate you’re on, it’s difficult to deny the importance text messaging has in our day to day lives.
Now don’t forget to text your spouse a reminder to pick up milk on the way home.