# SDMB Typing Speed Contest. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 16, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980 "2005-12-16T21:40:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/1 "2005-12-16T21:40:49Z")
Test [here](http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php). Include speed and number/location of errors. Speed: 134 WPM. Mistakes: 5. “There” (uncapitalized), at beginning. > [@Typing Test](#): > > Harris said he **flet** such **extroadrinary** fits of **giddines** > > a patent liver-pill circular, in which were **detalied** the various symptoms ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/2 "2005-12-16T21:55:18Z")
73 wpm and three mistakes. Sorry, I already closed the window. Can’t tell you the location of the mistakes. I think that my passage was different from yours, though. Mine was about some girl who was the mistress of her home after her mother died and her sister’s got married. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/3 "2005-12-16T22:34:36Z")
73 wpm and 8 mistakes. I’m curious about that number, though, because even in high school my fastest was maybe 60 wpm, and I’m much slower now, even though I type a lot more. 2nd time, 72 wpm and 1 mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/4 "2005-12-16T22:39:07Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > I’m curious about that number, though, because even in high school my fastest was maybe 60 wpm, and I’m much slower now, even though I type a lot more. It’s faster than any I’ve had elsewhere, but it’s been a couple years since I took a test anywhere else. I’ve usually clocked at least 94 or so since middle school, though… FTR, I took the test several more times and kept getting 125 with 2 errors, or thereabouts. One reason for the discrepancy is whether the other tests we’ve taken use actual words of the English language to determine wpm, as opposed to a “word” as five typed characters, which I read somewhere (a long time ago) is the ‘correct’ way to test one’s typing speed. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/5 "2005-12-16T22:39:17Z")
Even thought I’m an awful typist, I took the test. Feel free to point and laugh. 50 wpm, 4 mistakes, which is actually better than I thought I’d do. ---
**Author:** ![tiltypig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@tiltypig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiltypig)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/6 "2005-12-16T22:40:37Z")
98 wpm, 0 mistakes. I’m sure I could have gotten a higher speed if I hadn’t corrected my typos. My passage was apparently from this book: [http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0192836587/qid%3D1133396090/sr%3D1-1/ref%3Dsr\_1\_26\_1/026-5579407-9250800](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0192836587/qid%3D1133396090/sr%3D1-1/ref%3Dsr%5F1%5F26%5F1/026-5579407-9250800) ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/7 "2005-12-16T22:41:52Z")
I did it twice. 104 wpm the first time, two mistakes. 105 wpm the second time, one mistake. I used to be faster, but I don’t type out large blocks of text much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/8 "2005-12-16T22:47:45Z")
103 wpm, no mistakes. I’ve been clocked at as high as 148 WPM before, but it may have been a different testing methodology… and I’m not sitting at a desk as I usually am, but rather, my keyboard is in my lap, which slows me down a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/9 "2005-12-16T22:48:02Z")
I just cut and pasted the text and got 3511 wpm. I win! Unfortunately, even though I merely cut and pasted, I still got 94 errors. Man, am I ever a loser. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/10 "2005-12-16T23:30:08Z")
71 wpm, 2 errors. I was faster a few years ago, but I’m getting old in my old age. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/11 "2005-12-16T23:47:38Z")
Ha! 36 words per minute, 2 errors. I never learned how to type- I use 7 fingers and HAVE to look at the keyboard. Oh well, my slowness gives me the time to reconsider saying things I’ll later regret! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/12 "2005-12-16T23:57:40Z")
80 WPM, 1 mistake; left the “l” out of landlord. When I realized I was making a mistake I would back up and correct it, which kept my speed and my errors down. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/13 "2005-12-17T00:16:11Z")
Correcting mistakes slowed me down too–in addition to the 2-5 mistakes it would clock me for, I’d generally get about two mistakes that I’d notice in time to go back and fix them. The others I didn’t correct because I was too far ahead of them by the time I noticed them. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/14 "2005-12-17T00:17:24Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > 71 wpm, 2 errors. I was faster a few years ago, but **I’m getting old in my old age**. That’s more common than you’d think. Am I really the fastest typist on Dope? Let’s see some more challenges! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/15 "2005-12-17T00:28:04Z")
Hah! 90 WPM, one mistake. (neglected to insert a space between two words). I think Lewis Carroll is easier to type than Charlotte Bronte. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/16 "2005-12-17T00:30:21Z")
Did it twice, two errrors each time, in the SAME places. 61 wpm, which is pretty much how I always do on these… GT ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/17 "2005-12-17T01:20:40Z")
77wpm, but I kept backing up to correct my errors. I don’t remember how many errors I made, though. It’s a bit harder when I’m not letting my brain flow down through my fingers and reading text on the fly instead of… letting it flow. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/18 "2005-12-17T01:23:34Z")
> [@lizardling](#): > > 77wpm, but I kept backing up to correct my errors. I don’t remember how many errors I made, though. It’s a bit harder when I’m not letting my brain flow down through my fingers and reading text on the fly instead of… letting it flow. Hm. Second try, I got 86wpm with 1 mistake. The text was something from Laurie Lee, whoever she is. Fewer semicolons and dashes, which were helping trip me up in the previous attempt. I guess slaving over a hot keyboard does help increase typing speed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/19 "2005-12-17T01:29:50Z")
I took the test twice. First time, going back to correct typos: 101 wpm, zero errors. Second time, leaving typos alone: 110 wpm, six errors. This has been pretty much my consistent speed ever since I took Typing II in high school. (Typing I was on a Selectric. I never got above 80 on that thing. Typing II had electronic typewriters with big memory buffers.) ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980/20 "2005-12-17T01:40:07Z")
Took it twice: First time: 74wpm with 1 mistake Second time: 70wpm with 0 mistakes Not blistering speed, but fast enough for me! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-typing-speed-contest/335980.md?page=2)