On April 3, 2009, I asked people to visit this site and send a text message to my wife Fiona for her birthday. Here's how it went.
About 150 people sent messages, not counting the phone-to-phone ones from friends and family.
Most of those came in between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The busiest time was the 11:00 hour, when a new message arrived every two minutes.
The bombardment eventually wiped out the battery of Fiona's Treo. It's now back in action.
Some places Fiona heard from: Arlington, Va.; the East Village; Boston; Paignton, Devon, U.K.; Midtown; Atlanta; Pasadena; Prague; Washington; San Francisco; the 16th floor of Hearst Magazines; Milwaukee; Union Square; Plymouth, Devon, U.K.; Long Island City; Colorado, in a blizzard; Indiana; Chicago; 30,000 feet somewhere over Canada; Seattle; Houston; Columbus; Toronto; Tel Aviv; Springfield, Mo.; Rockingham, N.C.; Philadelphia; Los Angeles; the Lower East Side; Erie County; Doha, Qatar; the Jersey Shore; Portland; Costa Rica; Jerusalem; Greenport, Long Island; Oklahoma City; Austria.
Favorite lines: "I can't believe how long we've known each other! About 6 whole seconds!" ... "Happy Bday To: Henry IV,Doris Day, Marlon Brando, Jane Goodall, Gus Grissom, Alec Baldwin, Picabo Street,Wayne Newton, & Fiona!" ... "God, I miss you, baby." ... "Hope you enjoy your NEW CAR! (Sorry if I ruined the surprise.)" ... "your husband is weird" ... "U shud marry me becos i am the 6th Sultan of Brunei & will trade many fine camel 4 U." ... "Happy Birthday from Wiltshire, England! I'm Liam, and come with a british accent which makes me awesome."
Quote of the day, Fiona at 8:30 a.m.: "I seem to be getting a lot of text messages."
Many thanks to all who participated! You made Fiona's day.
Design: +S