Nowadays, people use mobile phones and laptops more than pens for writing.
But have you ever noticed that keyboard keys aren't arranged in A-Z alphabetical order?
The reason is the intentional QWERTY layout
In 1870, Christopher Latham Sholes invented the world's first typewriter. Early typewriters had keys in ABC order.
However, as people typed faster, the machine's metal arms (typebars) would get tangled and jam the typewriter.
To solve this problem, Sholes introduced the QWERTY layout in 1873. This design deliberately slowed typing speed slightly to prevent mechanical jams.
The QWERTY format spaces out frequently used letter pairs to minimize collisions between typebars.
Interestingly, this 150-year-old solution remains standard today, even in our digital age where mechanical jams are no longer an issue.
Modern devices still use QWERTY simply because it became the familiar standard.
Christopher Latham Sholes (1870)
Fast typing caused mechanical jams
QWERTY slowed typing to prevent jams (1873)
Still used despite being a mechanical-era solution