The Surprising Origins of QWERTY

Your keyboard layout was not designed for speed. It was actually created to prevent early mechanical typewriters from jamming when two keys were pressed in rapid succession.

During the 1870s, typewriter keys often struck each other and stuck together if a typist moved too quickly. Designers strategically placed common letter pairings apart to force the operator to slow down. While we have since mastered digital typing, we are still stuck using this clunky relic of mechanical hardware. It is a classic example of how a temporary fix can become an permanent global standard.