the.com/texts
the only conversation where read receipts can end a friendship faster than the words.
means The plural of text message, or the act of sending short electronic messages via phone — the little written volleys that pile up in your pocket all day.
from From Latin 'textus,' meaning 'a thing woven,' from 'texere,' 'to weave' — the same loom that gives us 'textile' and 'texture.' Originally any written words were a 'text,' a fabric woven from language. The verb sense and the SMS plural are recent inventions: when phones gained tiny keyboards in the late 20th century, 'text' was clipped from 'text message' and pressed into service as a verb, so that we now 'text' each other threads we never finish weaving.
- first text
- Said merry Christmas, sent in 1992.
- undo window
- iPhones added unsend because regret arrives in seconds.
- typing dots
- Pure suspense engineering, no actual message guaranteed.
- green vs blue
- A color war that ruined group chats worldwide.
- 160 limit
- Old texts capped at 160 characters, blame a postcard.
the gutenberg bible — first major book printed with movable type, ~1455, mainz
the dead sea scrolls — ancient hebrew manuscripts found in qumran caves, 2nd century bce
the rosetta stone — trilingual stone that unlocked egyptian hieroglyphics, 196 bce, egypt
beowulf manuscript — oldest surviving major work of english literature, 10th century, british library