The History Of Your QWERTY Keyboard
Some say it was designed to slow you down
The QWERTY keyboard and its strange arrangement of keys stare at you every single day. But why are they the way they are? Why is ‘A’ under ‘Q’? Is there a logical reasoning for the setup you see in front of you? Most of us never ask this question, we just set our fingers in the “home position” and touch type without thinking. Well, at least that’s what I do.
I remember a high school class just dedicated to typing. We sat in front of archaic word processors and typed up document after document; it was the only way to learn. This went on for about an entire semester — mindless typing.
But there is much more to this random assortment of keys. Your simple keyboard has a rich, controversial, and strange history. It found its beginnings on mechanical typewriters built by a famous gun manufacturer. Some say the strange arrangement of keys is designed to make you type slower.
Even stranger, the universal keyboard you see everywhere isn’t the only configuration. There are other styles, which advocates claim are much quicker and easier to use. Then why don’t we use them? The answer involves human nature, technology, and marketing. You’ll get all this from a history lesson of your simple keyboard.
