Why QWERTY and Does it Really Matter Which Order the Keys are In?
The clicketty-clacking-dinging sounds of a room full of typists bring back memories from the early days of my career…
Yes, that is the answer. It matters very much.
Have you ever wondered why the keys on the keyboard are arranged in the seemingly random order they are in? Christopher Sholes, the inventor of the Qwerty keyboard, which was then adopted in 1873 by Remington, discovered that when the keys were arranged alphabetically, the most commonly struck keys would tangle together (if, like me, you are of an age that you can remember typing on a typewriter which had metal arms) you will know how frustrating that could be. The Q-W-E-R-T-Y formation was deemed to be the layout that produced the fastest typing speed for a touch typist. Chances are, if the letters on the keyboard as we know it today were re-arranged alphabetically, we would produce gobbledygook. I know that I certainly would.
I first fell in love with typing after my very first experience on an ancient Corona typewriter when I typed out recipes for my mum as a child. I have always been fascinated with typewriters and am in awe of Tom Hanks and his…
