You're reading: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Five notable text messages that made the news

On Dec. 3, 1992, 22-year-old British engineer Neil Papworth sent the first ever text message from his computer to a friend’s phone containing the words “Merry Christmas.”

Twenty years later, the trillions of text messages — also known as SMSs, for short message service — sent around the world generate annual revenues of $112 billion.

And every so often, one of them makes the news.

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