Mar 13, 200610:30 AMThe Life

The thumb generation

1) The BBC claims that kids' thumbs are "getting bigger and stronger because they spend so much time texting and playing computer games."

2) WebMD says "BlackBerry thumb" might be the latest version of a 1980's malady called "Nintendonitis."

3) On June 27, 2004, 23-year-old Kimberly Yeo Sue Fern of Singapore set the Guinness world record of 43.24 seconds for typing a 160-character text message (26 words) in upper and lower case on a 12-key mobile phone. No "predictive text" functions (which auto-complete typed words) or other spelling aids were allowed in the competition. Note: Kimberly sends approximately 50 text messages per day to her friends and family.

4) On April 27, 2005, Finland's Arttu Harkki set another Guinness world record of 142.9 seconds for typing a 318-character message (55 words) on a mini-QWERTY keyboard. Arttu was limited to typing with one thumb only.