In the wildly popular 2003 movie Bruce Almighty, Jim Carrey’s character Bruce has a famous sequence in which he types millions of prayers at lightning-fast speed. Although this fictitious demonstration of fast typing may sound absurd, there is a real-life equivalent in the form of a 17-year-old genius named MythicalRocket.
Rocket can type at an incredible speed. He is light years ahead of the typical typist, who achieves a speed of about 40 words per minute (WPM), having broken the 300 WPM record. Rocket uses a conventional QWERTY keyboard and can type faster than even experienced stenographers, who can reach up to 225 WPM with specialised equipment. In comparison, Rocket could complete “The Hobbit” in less than six hours if he continued to type at his best pace.
But Rocket’s journey to typing fame didn’t happen overnight. Thinking back to his humble beginnings, he said, “It’s kind of hard for me to remember at this point, but I would say around three years ago was when I started to get into it.”
Although Rocket’s school did not have a specific typing class, he was first introduced to the concept through typing games, the titles of which he cannot remember. His gaming experiences were significant, especially in Minecraft, where he frequently chatted to improve his typing.
“Something happened between then and now that caused me to get, like, 140,” Rocket recalls. “I guess that gap can be attributed to gaming. I played a lot of Minecraft and talked over chat a lot. At some point, I realized I was fast and wanted to become just a little faster.” This realization spurred him to set and achieve incremental goals, pushing from 150 WPM to over 200 WPM.
Rocket’s relentless practice was crucial in his ascent to the 300 WPM mark. “I just kept practicing and practicing,” he says, “and now we’re here, I guess.” His practice regime primarily involved two online platforms, Monkeytype and Typeracer. “All my practice is on these two websites,” he explains. These platforms offered different approaches to typing practice—Monkeytype with random word strings and Typeracer with complete sentences against other typists.
“So every day I would load [Monkeytype] up for maybe 15, 30 minutes, and I just type, go ham, and I’d just keep doing it, and then I’d get faster,” Rocket elaborates. His dedication has earned him several world records, including the 60-second and 15-second typing categories.
In the years to come, Rocket believes there is still room for improvement. “I think it is possible,” he says about breaking his record. “I know that I am capable of breaking my record.” However, he acknowledges that consistently surpassing 300 WPM may require more than just practice.
Despite potential gains from using different keyboards or layouts, Rocket is reluctant to change his setup. “I switched keyboards, like, once in my entire typing career. It was probably the slowest I’ve ever felt,” he admits. The switch from a Steelseries Apex 7 to an Apex Pro was challenging but ultimately beneficial. “Now, when I try to type on my old Apex 7, it’s weird. I don’t feel as fast on it.”
Rocket will not be competing in typing competitions this year as he prepares to graduate and seek a career in software engineering. He is still as passionate about speed typing as ever, though. “I might have some things that I want to do this summer, but I’ll be more active in typing,” he says, hinting at future attempts to conquer new records.
