Katrina #11: Power of Wordle
Wordle—part time five-letter word guessing game, part time home-invasion life-saver.
According to the Washington Post, on the 5th of February in Lincolnwood, Illinois, 80-year old Denyse Holt, asleep in her bed, woke up “to a naked stranger standing just feet away … armed with scissors” (Edwards). Holt explained in an interview how the intruder threatened her, saying “If you talk, if you yell or you scream, I’m going to cut you,” (Edwards); believing this was her best chance of survival, Holt obeyed his demands. Not only threatening to cut her, the intruder demanded he was cold and needed all her blankets; however, that wasn’t enough to stop his shivering. He made Holt take him to the shower, and “when that didn’t warm him up enough, he made Holt, still dressed in her nightgown, lie on top of him in the tub” (Edwards). Eventually, he locked her up in her basement bathroom where she was trapped for nearly 20 hours.
So what saved Holt? The daily Wordle results she failed to send to her daughter.
“I didn’t send my older daughter a Wordle in the morning. And that was disconcerting to her,” Holt explained to CBS 2 (Edwards). Her daughters, living on the West Coast, suspected something was unusual, so they called Holt’s friends and eventually called the Lincolnwood police for a wellness check when there was no response from their mother. When the police arrived at her house, they freed her from the basement and found the suspect, identified as James H. Davis III, “in an upstairs bedroom … armed with several knives,” taking him into custody. He was charged with "home invasion with a dangerous weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed with a dangerous weapon and two counts of aggravated assault against a peace officer" (Edwards).
Looking at what happened, I find it fascinating understanding just how much power technology has on our lives and how something as simple as posting a Wordle score can be so life-saving.
According to the Washington Post, on the 5th of February in Lincolnwood, Illinois, 80-year old Denyse Holt, asleep in her bed, woke up “to a naked stranger standing just feet away … armed with scissors” (Edwards). Holt explained in an interview how the intruder threatened her, saying “If you talk, if you yell or you scream, I’m going to cut you,” (Edwards); believing this was her best chance of survival, Holt obeyed his demands. Not only threatening to cut her, the intruder demanded he was cold and needed all her blankets; however, that wasn’t enough to stop his shivering. He made Holt take him to the shower, and “when that didn’t warm him up enough, he made Holt, still dressed in her nightgown, lie on top of him in the tub” (Edwards). Eventually, he locked her up in her basement bathroom where she was trapped for nearly 20 hours.
So what saved Holt? The daily Wordle results she failed to send to her daughter.
“I didn’t send my older daughter a Wordle in the morning. And that was disconcerting to her,” Holt explained to CBS 2 (Edwards). Her daughters, living on the West Coast, suspected something was unusual, so they called Holt’s friends and eventually called the Lincolnwood police for a wellness check when there was no response from their mother. When the police arrived at her house, they freed her from the basement and found the suspect, identified as James H. Davis III, “in an upstairs bedroom … armed with several knives,” taking him into custody. He was charged with "home invasion with a dangerous weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed with a dangerous weapon and two counts of aggravated assault against a peace officer" (Edwards).
Looking at what happened, I find it fascinating understanding just how much power technology has on our lives and how something as simple as posting a Wordle score can be so life-saving.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8612571/wordle-home-intruder-save-woman/
Hey Katrina! Your blog certainly showcases an interesting set of events. That certainly is an extremely disconcerting crime, especially considering the age of the victim. If she had been a little unlucky, she might have even died from the length of time she ended up spending. That being said, this certainly is an interesting look into how even a slight change from regularity can have an enormous change on things and can be stemming from a lot more than we think. Maybe the next time a friend doesn’t post their wordle results, checking in on them is certainly not the worst idea. Maybe the danger isn’t as visible as an intruder, but you might save them all the same.
ReplyDeleteHi Katrina, this blog was rather entertaining to read. I think this story not only comes to show that technology is very important and useful in our lives but also emphasizes routine habits. Holt made it a habit of sending her daughter her Wordle results every day, and this is what really allowed her daughter to know that something wasn't right when this habit was broken. The consistency of habits is important, and in this case, was able to indicate when something has happened. The smallest things we do every day can end up saving our lives.
ReplyDeleteKatrina, this is a truly fascinating story. I remember when you were telling me about this and I told you to stop so that I could read it in your blog; I am glad I did. This is a type of story you read in novels and watch on tv; you would never expect it to happen in real life. Yet, here is a real, true story. It is crazy to think that just a small misstep in someone's routine indicates something bad which made them start to think about mine. If I do not wake up at my normal time my parents know I did not sleep well and if I stay up too long, on a school night, my parents know I have a lot of work. It is such simple and subtle actions that can sometimes tell our emotions and well being. Again, this blog post was definitely one of the most interesting ones I have read this school year.
ReplyDeleteHi Katrina! What happened to Holt was horrible, but I find it really nice that such a small detail was able to save her. It really shows that the regular routines and things we do in our day to day lives can have a bigger impact on us than we think. This story really gave me insight on the value of consistency and technology. The connections it gives us to people close and far can actually be beneficial, especially in a case such as this one. I recently started playing Wordle, and beyond it being an addicting word game, it's really cool to know that it was actually able to save her life.
ReplyDeleteHey Katrina, this story of Holt and how Wordle was able to save her really was surprising to me. After reading your blog, I went onto the story itself and read that over. It was a very interesting read, and it also showed to me how impressive the simple game Wordle consequently led to someone's mother being saved. I also admire how brave and persistent the mother was; at such an age of eighty, she still acted as if she was in the height of her life. Her telling herself the stories of those in the Holocaust and the man who had to amputate his arm showed how much of an amazing woman she is. This read was very interesting to read, thank you.
ReplyDeleteHey Katrina! I was shocked to see how the simple actions of forgetting to send a Wordle score resulted in Holt’s rescue. I love Wordle and my friends and I play every morning, but I never really interpreted Wordle to be a tool of communication with such big outreach. I know it gained most of its popularity because of its unique sharing features, but I never realized how impactful that small feature would turn out to be. This story really highlighted the strength and reach social media can have over our daily lives. It’s scary to imagine how unfortunate the story would have turned out had it not been for Wordle. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI actually haven’t started playing wordle with everyone but this blog reminded me that I’d been wanting to start. Technology really is incredible in how it has intertwined our lives with those around us. This case is incredible, a lot of recent cases involve so many technological examples of advocacy and it’s still bizarre to hear about these cases(which feel so far away) and then hear about things that are a part of our lives(wordle in this case). There is so much community that we find on the internet which really can be a beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteHi Katrina! I found the news story you shared to be intriguing. Although I have never used Wordle, I think that the game took on a very powerful and useful role in the turn of events. The story showed that unexpected things can happen anytime in our lives and it is important to establish a system where someone you trust knows about your wellbeing even if you have no communication with them. After reading your blog, I am interested to learn more about Wordle. I also realized how important technology is in our modern lifestyle. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Katrina, it’s a relief to hear that the criminal was arrested and that the lady was saved before anything worse happened to her. I agree that the event you discussed in your blog really does show how much of an influence technology has over our lives in our present society. Today, on the news I heard of a town losing electricity and wifi for 5 weeks due to natural disasters and it made me wonder how my family and I would react if we experienced the same event. I think it would be an extremely difficult time to live through. Thank you for sharing!
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