Contestants compete in an early round during the 6th Annual LG US National Texting Championship August 8, 2012 in New York’s Times Square. A 16-year-old boy retained his title as America’s fastest texter Wednesday in a duel of the thumbs staged before yelling fans on New York’s Times Square. Austin Weirschke took home $50,000 prize money for the second time in two years when he bested 10 other texting demons in feats of thumb speed, memory and fluency in texting shorthand. One round was performed with the remaining contestants blindfolded and having 45 seconds to type the verse: “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are, up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.” The event, sponsored by LG Electronics and using the company’s cell phones, took place on a traffic island in Times Square. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/GettyImages)
