Why Are the Letters on a Typewriter Mixed Up?
Why Are the Letters on a Typewriter Mixed Up? Perhaps you’ve noticed that the letters on a standard typewriter keyboard are mixed up, rather than being arranged in alphabetical order. When the first practical typewriter was invented in the 1870’s, its inventor arranged the keys alphabetically.
But because the long type bars fell back into place too slowly after being struck, they would often become entangled with one another. To lessen the chance of jamming, the most frequently typed letters were moved as far apart as possible.
In 1873, the manufacturing rights of the machine were sold to E.Remmington and Sons. The company again arranged the letters. This arrangement is used on most typewriters today.
There is an interesting fact here. Try typing the word “TYPEWRITER”. Did you notice something?
All the letters you typed are in the first row of your keyboard. The brand name of the machine was TYPEWRITER and it is said that the company wanted the letters of their brand name on the top.